Growing Up Reimagined
by Galtori
Summary: This is the first in a new series for me, all of which will have 'Reimagined' in the title. This will have hints and foreshadowing of Shenko, but nothing too concrete at the moment. This story takes places roughly one year after BAaT. This story features Shepard and Kaidan before the Normandy SR-1. Rated M for violence later in the story, though it might be too harsh.
1. Meeting Commander Shepard

Chapter 1: Meeting Commander Shepard

AN: To avoid any confusion, small chunks of italics represent thoughts, while large chunks of italics represent flashbacks. And for future reference, tildes signify a change in point of view.

EDIT: OMG, I have tried so many different things, trying to get some sort of system for you so that y'all can tell the difference between POV changes and time jumps, but nothing wants to work. I am so sorry guys. Line breaks now mean POV change, time jump, or both. I'm so sorry and I wish I could change it, but I don't know how.

* * *

He should have seen this coming. He should have tried to blend in a little more, tried to be a little more social, brought a friend over every now and again. But he didn't. So now he had to explain to Champ and everyone else in his online guild that he'd have spotty attendance for a while. Of course, Champ nearly flipped online. Thank goodness he hadn't been in the diner, or Champ might have physically tracked Kaidan down. Kaidan could still remember his father's proud grin at yesterday's dinner.

_"Kaidan, help your mother clear out the guest room and inflate the air mattress after dinner. Your mother will know where she wants it. I'll wash the dishes and clear the table." Kaidan frowned at his father's request. They only fixed the guest room before someone came over._

_ "Who's coming over?" Kaidan asked in curiosity. _Probably Aunt Irene and her kids, _he thought._

_ "An old friend of mine from the Alliance. We met before I retired." _So I just have to put on an appearance for dinner. Champ shouldn't be too mad about that. But why bring out the air mattress if it would be one guy? _"He's also bringing his kid. Should be a few years younger than you, but nothing you can't handle." Kaidan's hopeful thoughts immediately came crashing down._

_ "Don't look so upset, Kaidan. You can entertain a guest. Poor thing probably never gets off a ship, so spend a few days exploring the city. Maybe even stop by the diner and introduce her to your guild friends. Alliance children always love games like yours. And don't frown so much. You'll scare the dear thing away. Or I'll make you stay with your Aunt Irene the whole time," his mother ended with a threat. Dutifully, he schooled his face into an impassive shield and nodded._

_ "Yes, Mother," he calmly replied. Champ _definitely _would not be happy. But he'd have to suffer through like Kaidan._

And now the big moment had come. His dad had sent a ping about five minutes ago, saying that his friend had cleared Vancouver Interstellar Port's customs and he was bringing the two guests home. So now Kaidan and his mother were waiting on the porch. After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw the hovercar land in the orchard.

Kaidan saw a tall male form step out of the hover car, carrying a duffle bag. This had to be the Commander. Kaidan observed light brown hair, now the most common hair color. The Commander seemed to be enjoying himself, a large grin spread across his face. Kaidan's father stepped out next, carrying a second duffle bag. His father wore a smug look, and Kaidan guessed that he had just told the Commander a joke. The Commander then turned back to the car, offering a hand towards the hover car. A pale hand took the Commander's and the kid stepped out of the car.

The first thing Kaidan noticed was a shock of strawberry-blonde hair. The second was the length of the hair, almost to the youth's waist, atypical for both genders his age. Then the youth turned towards the house, and Kaidan was almost shocked to discover the youth was a girl. She bore a strong resemblance to her father, sharing his nose and brow. Her eyes were the next thing to catch Kaidan: they were a vibrant shade of green. Kaidan only just managed to keep his mouth shut and his expression closed off. He took the time their guests used to come up to the porch to gather himself. While he was admittedly curious about the Commander's daughter, questions could wait until dinner. And even then, it would be his parents doing most of the talking.

"Kaidan, let me introduce you to Commander Kennan Shepard and his daughter Annalisa Shepard. I know that Kennan choosing to go planet-side is the equivalent of a solar eclipse, so I'll enjoy some time with my friend while he's here." Kennan barked in laughter and gave Kaidan's father a playful shove.

"Thanks for the anecdote, Cedric. Only reason I don't come more often is that some of us have to work a little harder than you to support our kids. Besides, if we all retired at once, the Alliance wouldn't know what to do!" Kennan walked up to Kaidan's mother and the two embraced. "How have you been, Molly? Last time I saw you was on Arcturus station with an infant. It can't have been that long, so I'm assuming you traded in models," he joked as Molly took one of the duffel bags.

"Does that mean I was a trade in too? I doubt Mom would be happy about that," Anna piped up, and all three adults burst out laughing. Kaidan's jaw almost dropped to the floor. He never would have dreamt of saying something like that in front of guests, and his parents surely wouldn't let a smart-assed comment drop without a sharp look.

"I see she's picked up Hannah's sense of humor," Molly commented as Kennan turned to wrap an arm around his daughter. Kaidan mentally shrugged. _Apparently guests can get away with it._

"Definitely. Though don't you fear, love. I'd never trade you in." He kissed the top of his daughter's head quickly before finishing. "No way I'd trade my little 'Lisa."

"Dad!" Annalisa all but whined as Kennan laughed again.

"I'm sorry, dear. Apparently I'm the only one who can get away with calling her by that nickname. But you are my smiling Mona Lisa." He shot Anna a soft look, who sighed in response before leaning into his hug and softly smiling. In that moment, Kaidan realized exactly why Kennan called her a 'smiling Mona Lisa'. Her smile seemed so kind and beautiful, that it was almost impossible. His stomach did a small summersault and he swallowed hard. Maybe this visit wouldn't be so bad.

"Kaidan, go ahead and show Annalisa around the house. I'll take the duffle bags up to the guest room. Kennan, sit your ass down in the kitchen and I'll see that Molly gets you a beer," Cedric ordered as he took both duffle bags and went in the house. Anna then looked at him, and Kaidan gestured for him to follow her.

"Nice shirt. You seen all the seasons?" She commented as they headed upstairs. He paused for a moment, unsure of what she meant before he remembered the shirt he had on. It was a simple black shirt with "Bazinga!" written across it in violet. It was a reference to an old show called _Big Bang Theory_, a show about geek culture for geek culture. He was pleasantly surprised that she knew about it.

"Yeah. How about you?" She nodded as she reached the second floor. He decided to use her shirt as a conversation piece next. "My other ride is an M-35 Mako" it read.

"You'd better be reading my shirt," she taunted as she walked past him. He turned red as she realized what he was implying. "So what's up here?"

"I _was_. Why would you think I was looking elsewhere?" He sassed back, and she glanced over her shoulder, a gleam in her eyes. "And I actually haven't ridden in a Mako before. How do they handle?" She spun and scoffed, bending a little to laugh better.

"Oh, then you haven't been anywhere _near_ one," she teased with a twinkle in her eyes. "Dad took me with a buddy of his once. He drove for a while, looking for different resources for the Alliance. Then he let me have a spin." An infectious grin spread across her face, and he couldn't help but mirror it.

"I assume there were survivors from letting a teenager handle a military vehicle," he lightly taunted, and she leveled a glare that registered between 'don't think you can get away with that' and 'don't you wish you knew'. He lightly tapped the door to his room. "This is my room," he commented before turning back to the hall, walking towards the media room.

"Of course there were. I can handle myself. And if you're polite, when you visit us, I might talk Dad into letting you do so too." Kaidan noted that Annalisa's voice was getting fainter as he walked, and when he turned, he almost stammered in shock. The door to his room was open.

"That's my room!" He protested, following her in the hopes that he could drag her out of his room.

"Yeah," she drew the word out, as if doing so would emphasize her understanding or ask a question in return, turning back to her inspection of his tech. "You've got pretty cool tech in here. Are you studying to go to a university?" She gestured at the tech-related books next to his desk.

"Uh, the thought's crossed my mind, but not seriously." The question caught him off guard, and he had to stop himself from admitting that he had never applied to any college for fear of being rejected because of BAaT or his biotic powers. He shook his head, getting back to the reason he had stepped into his room to begin with. "What are you doing in my room?" He bluntly asked.

"I'm just looking," she shrugged, turning towards his collection of books. He wasn't in the mood to be laughed at again, so he took one of her wrists. "Why? Is something wrong with that?"

"It's a little rude to just barge into someone's room. Most people like a little privacy." Annalisa's eyes widened in understanding. She quickly stood and started walking out. She looked back at him before she reached the door.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Living on a ship with a bunch of other kids means that you're often in and out of each other's rooms, grabbing one thing or another. Privacy isn't too much of a thing on a ship. Rooms are more like statements of who you are. They're a good way to know a person." He blinked at her explanation, his earlier frustration bleeding off. "Where did you want to show me next?" She turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Annalisa. I just didn't understand why you were doing that earlier. That makes a lot more sense." He didn't want their time together to be so painfully awkward, so he cast about the room, trying to find a proper way to mend bridges. His eyes settled back onto the tech. "Do you know how most of this stuff works?" He gestured down to his gadgets, willing to show her.

"Of course. You follow the engineers around enough and they teach you little things, let you help. And call me Anna, it's easier." She was back hovering behind him, glancing over his shoulder at the instruments he was pointing at. Anna's jaw then fell to floor as she got on her hands and knees, staring at his book collection. "Please tell me that you know the books you have on these shelves." She looked back at him with a flabbergasted look.

"I do. I've read all of them a few times." He was working hard to disguise his uncertainty. Rose had been by once before and laughed her ass off at his collection, calling it 'a child's fantasy world' and asking if he preferred that over reality. He wasn't quite sure how she would react.

"You have the _Chronicles of Narnia,_ the _Harry Potter_ series, and most of the _Dragonlance _stories. Do you know how many people I know who would _kill_ to have _part_ of this collection? In hardback, nonetheless." Kaidan couldn't contain his laughter for a minute longer. He had worried for no reason, and the relief made him giddy. She was unlike any other girl he had ever known. "I didn't say that just so you could laugh at me." Her voice was suddenly harsh, and he realized how his laughter sounded. He immediately quelled his laughter and straightened up.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I've just never known a woman to have such good taste in books." He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "One other girl knew of my collection but she essentially laughed at it." Anna huffed and rolled her eyes.

"If she doesn't realize the quality of this selection, she has no taste in literature. Don't bother keeping her around, or I'll kick her dumb ass. Don't tell Dad I said that, though." He could feel another chuckle bubble to the surface.

"I won't. Hey, my dad mentioned that your dad doesn't spend much time planet-side. Do you?" She seemed to blush a little in response.

"The paleness doesn't answer for me? No. Very rarely." She shook her head as she responded.

"Well, we could go hiking. There's a nice area we can go to past the orchard. It's high enough to get a good view and close enough to head back home when we want to." Anna seemed to perk up in curiosity.

"I think I might like that," she agreed as a grin spread across her face as he lead her back out into the hall and towards the media room.

* * *

The conversations were good all throughout dinner. Kaidan and Anna asked a few more questions of each other, and Kaidan was able to avoid mentioning Brain Camp for the night. Kennan engaged Kaidan's parents in a robust tale of one of his recent ground missions. There were several things that Kennan couldn't specify, but the tale itself was engaging. Soon both Kaidan and Anna were enraptured by the tale. Kennan went on to tell several more stories until everyone was yawning, and Kaidan's mother was shooing everyone to bed. A chorus of 'good night' rang through the house, and Kaidan went to his room.

That night, for the first time in over a year, Rahna's face didn't haunt his dreams, hiding behind her father's coat and three other men as she was whisked away from him, staring at him in fear as his last chance to apologize and explain slipped away. The mass departure from Jump Zero, waiting in a cramped ship where everyone gave him a five foot berth, did not dog his sleeping steps. He dreamt of open mountain ranges, of red robins swooping low over cherry and apple trees. His dreams were filled with the sun's warmth, of two sets of laughter, and the scent of strawberries.

AN: This is going to be the first in a large-scale project that I'm doing. I've had this idea for just under a year, and have been piecing together what I want this to look like for quite some time before I began assembling everything. This project will be an AU look at how the Mass Effect series would be affected by a simple change: what if Kaidan Alenko and Annalisa Shepard met before serving together on the _Normandy_? My original inspiration was from Tumblr back in November, where there was a discussion about a young Kaidan and Shepard interacting. My brain took hold of that idea and took it's own take on the idea. I also took this as an opportunity to explore both characters coming into their own, each helping to shape each other into who they become, as well as topics that Bioware doesn't fully elaborate on, like a Spacer!Shepard's father and biotics, as well as how Kaidan dealt with the fallout from BAaT. I hope everyone enjoys this. As always, many thanks to my beta Jules Hawke. My ideas would be scattered and I would be repeating myself all over the place if it weren't for your help.

Bioware owns Mass Effect, and while I wish I could remember who sparked the original idea for this, I credit the lovely Mass Effect fandom on Tumblr. You guys are amazing and constantly churning out stuff that inspires me to write and think and feel, even though I highly doubt I could add much more to the creative pool. I love interacting with all of you lovely people.


	2. Getting to Know Each Other

Chapter 2: Getting to Know Each Other

Two days later, Kaidan and Anna were packing hiking bags to explore the nearby mountain. It was a low mountain that hadn't been touched by the erosion yet, and most locals knew the low height made it perfect for day hikes. Kaidan's mother had packed a picnic lunch for the two of them, and the weather looked alright for the moment. The weather forecast said that heavy storms were due tomorrow, but there was a possibility of them arriving early. Regardless, the two happily walked out of the house and onto the well-worn path.

Two hours later, and Kaidan was pleasantly surprised. He had expected someone born and raised in space to lack the typical endurance needed for something like this, but Anna had done very well. They settled against a nearby tree and pulled out water and food, setting up their picnic.

"That was a lot of fun. I just hope I don't fall down the mountain when we go back," Anna confessed as she wiped her brow and took a long drink.

"I doubt it. You made it up here. Getting down is always easier. So I'm guessing you find some way to get exercise out those ships," Kaidan prompted, glad that she was a good hiking companion. She had frequently stopped along the trail, looking at things Kaidan had often seen before. It brought new life to one of his old haunts. They were also lucky that the mountain was free of others today. It had allowed them to explore and take their time without feeling rushed or crowded.

"Yes, the ships have gyms where we can go and run around. It keeps us from running through the rest of the ship, and it lets the adults get their exercise trying to chase us." She smiled, seeming to remember something. "Although there were always troublemakers who would run around outside the gym. There was also a small band of kids like me who tried to keep order for the adults. It's often comprised of the kids of all the officers on board. Our parents would spend time together, so we did too. Mom is a Captain, so I was often the one in charge of keeping the kids in line. We were young like them, so we could approach them with gentle warnings. And the youngest ones looked up to us. We were like a young Alliance." She stood and walked out from their tree to get a better view of the ocean and the surrounding area. It occurred to him that at young age, she had been asked to be the adult amongst her peers, that they had looked to her for leadership. Those things often aged a person, sped them through the emotions of growing up. And in that moment, he saw a leader in her, though perhaps it wasn't a leader that she recognized.

"Sounds like you did well by the others. Your father hasn't told any tales of you getting caught or any other kids under your wing. It's something to be proud of." She turned to him, surprised by the compliment before she smiled at him, that 'Mona Lisa' smile that flipped his stomach. He smiled back, feeling a little awkward before he noticed the sky. It was getting dark faster than it should, and he didn't like the look of the incoming clouds. "I'm not quite sure about that sky being so friendly. Let me look up the weather. Sure enough, there was a system heading straight for them, and not too far away. He doubted that they could make it back home in time, but they could at least get off of the mountain. At that time, his mother called him.

"Kaidan, there's a storm headed your way. I want you to head home with Anna right now." There was a little concern in voice, but not enough to come out and get them herself. The storm wasn't too bad, mostly rain and low thunder.

"We just saw the sky. We're packing up now." Anna quickly moved back to the tree and gathered up the few things they'd brought with them. "I don't think we can make home before the storm hits, but we should be able to reach the orchard. I'll let you know when we're there." His mother nodded.

"Alright. It isn't too bad, so take your time under the trees if it starts to pour. If it gets worse, we'll let you know and come to get you." He hung up as Anna put her pack back on.

"Let's get a move on. This storm already has the jump on us, but we should be able to get down the mountain mostly dry." He took the lead on the path down, and heard Anna follow close behind.

"Umm. This might be a bad time to make a confession, but I thought you might want to know." He slowed, letting her speak. "I've only seen one or two storms before this. And they were pretty scary." At that, Kaidan slowed to a stop.

"It's ok to admit that you're scared," he said. "And I'll keep us safe. This one will have mostly rain. There won't be a lot of thunder and lightning. If it was bad, my parents would have come in the hovercar. It'll be ok, I promise. Not every storm is one for the records." Her lips had been drawn in a thin line, a poor cover for her wide eyes. But as he spoke, she seemed to relax, if only marginally.

"Let's just get down to the base. I'll feel better there." With that, they resumed their trek to the base. As they went on, the sky darkened around them, and Kaidan could feel the moisture in the air, ready to fall with the storm.

They continued down for another hour before they started to feel rain.

A flash of lightening lit the sky and a loud clap of thunder resounded. Anna shrieked, and Kaidan seemed to turn in slow motion, watching Anna jump and loose her footing. She reached out towards him, fear in her eyes, but he couldn't reach far enough. So he reacted and summoned his biotics to lighten her and slow her momentum. By the time he reached out, he could grab her leg, and used that to pull her back onto solid ground. She slid out of the pocket of lowered gravity and stammered to her feet.

"Thanks. You never mentioned you were a biotic." Kaidan was stunned by her calm reaction. The few who saw his biotics were always shocked and fearful of him, spare Champ. But that was different. He shook his head and continued down the mountain, holding her hand to keep that from happening again. By the time they reached the orchard, it was falling heavily.

"Do you want to try to reach the house, or do you want to hunker down here? The trees should provide shelter from the worst of it, but we can make a break for it if you want to." Anna shook her head in response and Kaidan fired up his omni-tool, sending a quick message.

"Can we wait for it to let up?" Kaidan nodded, raising his voice above the increasing downpour.

"This will get a little worse, but we're about in the worst of it now. They know we're at the edge of the orchard." Kaidan paused. "Why didn't you freak out over my biotics?"

"Am I supposed to?" She asked cheekily. "One of the kids on Mom's ships was a biotic. He was gone a while for training and surgery, but he came back. He's a good person, and biotics don't have to be scary. Dad has worked with one, and he said he saved Dad's life. It's like anything else: it's all in how you use it." Her words were sincere, and for one of the first times since he arrived back home, he didn't feel like a freak who had to hide his biotics. The storm continued to pour down around them, and he heard Anna sigh.

"Is it always this rainy?"

"A lot of the time. It isn't always raining, but it's common. Do you want to make a break for it?" They could sprint from tree to tree, avoiding most of the rain, but at the pace the rain was falling, they would be soaked by the time they reached the inner edge of the orchard. But as they contemplated returning home, Kaidan noticed something. The lightning was less frequent, and the thunder had calmed to a dull reverberation.

"Is it just me, or is it the rain finally calming down?" Anna finally put his musing into words, and he nodded quietly.

"You can tell by the pause between lightning and thunder." Anna stood quietly for a minute, observing what he had said before making a small noise of amusement.

"That sure was a tough storm, though." She remarked. "I'm surprised it just didn't keep getting stronger."

"Makes you think of _Dragons of a Fallen Sun_, doesn't it?" He mused, and she smiled.

"Just wish I could be the one to walk out of the storm," she quietly confessed.

"You kinda look like her," Kaidan nudged her good-naturedly.

"Oh, if I didn't have you out here, I wouldn't know what I was doing. I'm no Mina. I'm just a Navy brat who doesn't get much planet-side time." She shrugged softly.

"Hey," Kaidan nudged her again, and she looked at him. "If those novels taught me anything, it's that the most ordinary people can go on extraordinary adventures. Who knows? You may lead your own army for the One God. Besides, she didn't know what she was doing. Galdur taught her to fight the night before her first battle." She smiled at him, that soft Mona Lisa smile, and he had never been so glad to speak his mind. "I've even got my electronic copy if you care to look at the source material." He rattled his arm for good measure, and she gave a soft laugh.

"Alright then, go ahead." Anna slid down to the ground, and he joined her as he opened the book.

"_Stars, glittering cold and deadly as spear points, appeared in the west. The ragged edges of the storm's rear echelon seemed to uncover the stars as they passed. The single moon had risen in defiance of the thunder. The figure was no more than twenty feet away now, and by the moon's argent light Galdar could see the person clearly._"

"Hey! You skipped like ten pages!" Kaidan chuckled at her near outrage as she leaned in, craning her head awkwardly to better view his omni-tool.

"Pardon me, but our surroundings fit the mood perfectly. Besides, you said you like Mina, and this is where she shows up." Anna shuffled in her spot, moving to a less awkward position, though it firmly placed her in his personal space. Then again, Kaidan mused, it also placed him in her personal space.

"I know, but you still skipped it." Kaidan was about to turn the page back in exasperated defeat when she interrupted his hand. "Go on; you're obviously bent on showing something." He smiled and turned back to the book, leaning in a little to ensure that his body covered hers from the worst of the rain.

"_Human, a youth, to judge by the slender, well-knit body and the smooth skin of the face. Dark hair had been shaved close to the skull, leaving only a red stubble. The absence of hair accentuated of the face and thrust into prominence the high cheekbones, the sharp chin, the mouth in its bow curve. The youth wore the shirt and tunic of a common foot knight and leather boots, carried no sword upon his hip nor any sort of weapon that Galdar could see._" Kaidan continued to read for some time, reading through Mina's dramatic entrance and that of her steed. But he was stopped by a ping from their parents. Apparently another wave of storms was headed their way and now was the best time to sprint through the orchard.

"Perhaps we can continue reading tomorrow?" Anna asked as they moved deeper into the orchard, heading home again.

"You want to read more snippets of Mina?" He countered, knowing that Anna had enjoyed hearing it. She blushed but nodded her head. "I don't see any reason to say no." He casually shrugged as she grinned. When they finally reached the porch, they were all but drenched. Anna looked particularly unhappy as she wrung her hair out on the porch. "Go ahead and leave your pack here. It can dry out here, and we can get it in the morning." She promptly let the bag thunk onto the wood and Kaidan shook his head, arranging it so it would dry better before walking in. His mother was there with towels for both of them, and Kennan smiled at them.

"So, how was the hike? Did you enjoy it, Anna?" He asked a clearly grumpy Anna.

"I'm wet. But the hike up was nice."

"Lisa, that's what happens in the rain. It's like a shower with your clothes on. Besides, if you want to join the Alliance, you have to get used to ground missions where you're hot or wet or hungry." He clapped her on the back, and small water droplets came off her clothes.

"This isn't a mission, Dad. I was hiking. Now I feel like I need a shower."

"You can always head back outside," Kaidan quipped, but partially regretted it when Anna flung her thin jacket, now heavy with rain water, into his face. In reaction, he deflected it with biotics, but a decent portion of the water splashed his face. For a moment, he thought they would look at him in fear or disgust, thinking him a biotic freak. But everyone began laughing, and Kaidan relaxed, realizing he must look ridiculous.

"Dry off with the towels, change if you want to, and Cedric has hot chocolate for you in the living room."

* * *

That night, Anna's dreams were different. She was no longer bound to the awkward body of a teenager, but that of a warrior. She dreamt of a storm that could not touch her, of armor that molded to her body. She dreamt of the wind in her hair, of the flash of weapons, of fear in her enemies' eyes. She dreamt of scarred lips meeting hers, of firm hands gripping her, and a smell she couldn't quite place. The next morning, she awoke refreshed and eager for the day.

AN: Italicized snippets are from page 18 of the paperback copy of _Dragons of a Fallen Sun_, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Part of the story is about a female warrior named Mina who leads a small army in the name of The One God.


	3. Getting in Trouble

Chapter 3: Trouble

Every night for a week, Kaidan had snuck out of the house when he thought everyone was asleep. But Anna had heard him every night and watched him walk towards town from her window. So that night, Anna had waited until her father was asleep, then got up and dressed in dark pants and a dark hoodie. Anna wouldn't let him sneak out another night without knowing what he was up to. And his answers to her prodding were too evasive. If she didn't know any better, she would say that he was in trouble. So she slid out through the back door and followed Kaidan, jumping behind trees when he looked back at the house. On they went until Kaidan got on a bus. Fortunately, she slid into a seat at the front of the bus and pulled her hood over her head while Kaidan sat in the back. The stop Kaidan got off at was popular, so Anna easily got off without raising his suspicion. On and on Kaidan went, with Anna only just keeping up until they reached an old warehouse. Stopping, Kaidan cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a bird call, which was answered by another teenager stepping out of the shadows.

"'bout time you got here," the new face snapped. Anna couldn't get a good look at him, dressed in all black, almost blending into the night.

"I have to slip away from my family and catch a bus to keep from arousing suspicion. Buses run late, Champ."

"Just be glad you weren't any later. Slick has the schedule worked out. I need both of you to keep us all off the grid tonight," Champ stated.

"All of us? No, I'm just gonna be in the warehouse with Slick, working on keeping the grid how we want it. No field work. I told you that when I signed up for this." Kaidan was firmly shaking his head, but Champ only chuckled.

"You owe me. Now, get ready to head out with us, Oil." He rumpled Kaidan's hair as he all but dragged Kaidan into the warehouse. _So Kaidan is wrapped up with a bad crew. Oil and Slick. They're probably the two tech experts. Champ is probably in charge. It sounds like he has something over Kaidan. Hmm. It will be interesting to get him out of there. Waltzing in is probably the second worst idea, behind getting them caught._ Shepard cut her musing short as a small group slid out of the warehouse, Kaidan looking back at the warehouse before turning forward. Anna could see a hard glint in his eyes that she had never seen before.

Anna wasn't sure where they were heading or if they were even coming back, so she continued to sneak after them. She followed the group until they reached a skycar lot for one of the local drug companies. From there, they crossed a fence, and Anna knew that she had no way of following them. So with no other option, she resigned herself to sit and wait, hoping that they wouldn't get caught.

* * *

Roughly an hour passed before she caught sight of a group running towards the fence. One fiddled with the fence again, and the group passed through unharmed. But everyone was carrying boxes, whose contents Anna couldn't even guess. She followed the group back by a different route to the warehouse, where the boxes were placed, and Anna could hear several voices laughing. Anna didn't have to wait much longer before Kaidan walked out with Champ and a woman.

"Well well well, Oil. You're quite a natural at this," the woman purred as she stroked Kaidan's shoulder. Something about her touch and the overly feminized voice made Anna's hackles rise. There was no way Kaidan would enjoy something like that. "You really should go out with us more." Kaidan shrugged off the touch, and Anna felt a sense of vindication.

"I've told you before, Rose. I don't do field work," he insisted.

"No, you _didn't_ do field work. Now you do," Champ stated as he slid between the pair, thumping Kaidan on the back with one hand and sliding his other hand onto Rose's hip. "Get onto the game tomorrow, and I'll let you know when the next raid is." Kaidan pressed his lips together into a thin line, obviously unhappy. "Or would prefer that others found out about your late night activities?" Kaidan walked away from the pair as they continued to laugh. Anna followed him until he was almost out of the alley and out of earshot of the warehouse.

"So, when's the bus home arrive?" She asked casually as she threw her hood back, quietly furious at him. He spun around, biotics lighting his body up in the dark.

"Anna?!" He hissed, quickly moving forward and grabbing her arm tighter than she would have liked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I tried asking you the same thing, but you wouldn't give me a straight answer. I had to find out for myself," she hissed back.

"How much do you know?" She could hear a sliver of something like fear and more like belligerence in his voice now.

"I know about Rose, Champ, and Slick. I know that you also took boxes that don't belong to you. What was in them, anyway?" Kaidan sighed and shook his head.

"Hell if I know. Champ didn't say, and I didn't want to know. Look, we need to head to the bus. I don't want to risk anyone catching you out of bed." He marched them both to the bus stop and caught the bus back home. But once they got inside the grounds, Anna stopped them and ducked under a tree.

"Kaidan, you have to get out of this. You know that this could easily go bad. Someone else in that group could make a mistake that gets you caught. The Alliance would kill to get their hands on someone as good as you!" She insisted. How dumb was he to think he could continue to get away with it?

"You think I don't know that? You think I don't want out? I do! But I can't!" She finally realized the look in his eyes. He was scared.

"So tell me how it started. Maybe we can sort it out along the way," she pleaded. Kaidan gave her a hard look before nodding.

"After Brain Camp, I was messed up. Guess I still am," he chuckled ruefully. "I started playing this MMO, and you know how they're all code-based. I figured out a way to cheat part of the game. It wasn't anything big, but it was a fun little laugh for me. After I pulled that stunt a few times, I started intentionally trying to cheat difficult parts of the game. That got me noticed by a band of players, calling themselves the Headless Horsemen. They invited me to join their guild, saying that I was like them.

"I started talking to them in chat, and as a group, we were able to pull off major system hacks. Sometimes we did it for kicks, and sometimes it was to make a point. Anyway, I let a line about my hometown slip, and some of the guys, including the group leader, said that they lived around there too. We arranged to meet, and they were an ok group to hang around. They knew I was a biotic, and they didn't hate me, which was rare for civilians. So I arranged to meet with them some more, even letting them come over. Sometimes everyone couldn't make it, but Champ was always there.

"I kept meeting with them because I liked them. Eventually, Champ asked about the scar," he pointed to his lip. "And I told him enough about Brain Camp for him to connect the dots." He held up a hand as she went to ask the inevitable question about what happened. "Another time, please." Anna sighed in frustration, but let that subject drop. "Then one time, I show up to the diner when this girl stumbles out of an alley, torn shirt, crying, going on about how some gang beat her up and stole her purse. Champ met me outside while I was trying to comfort her and said she was his girlfriend, so we went after them." Anna gave a half-hearted grin, guessing where the story would go.

"Let me guess, that was Rose?" Kaidan ruefully nodded.

"Yup. And I fell hook, line, and sinker for their setup. We chased them to the warehouse; I hacked and used my omni-tool while Champ started pounding on them. We actually hacked our way into the gang's vault. And sitting in it was none other than Rose, smiling and clapping. I didn't understand until Champ thumped me on the back and welcomed me in. At that point, I didn't have much of a choice. If I turned them down, they all would have turned on me. I couldn't have taken all of them. Plus they had a turf advantage. So I agreed to work from the warehouse with Slick while everyone else went out to do the job. Our jobs allowed us to be remote. Slick sometimes went with them to make sure any on-site jobs got done easier, but I made it clear that I didn't do field work. At first, they didn't ask for me to do stuff very often. But they've been making me come down more and more. Now they're making me do field work." He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "And I don't know how to get out."

"It's actually pretty simple. You walk out-"

"They won't let me." He interrupted. She gave him a stern look before settling her hands onto her hips.

"You didn't let me finish. As I was saying, you walk out with something good enough to force their hand. What's something that would ruin them?" Kaidan thought for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"There's a box in the vault. It's a list of contacts and jobs they've done. I saw Champ updating it once. He does that after every outing."

"Then we find a way to get a copy of it, and threaten to go to the police with it if they don't let you out." Suddenly, Kaidan shook his head.

"The door to the vault has two code parts. I wrote one and Slick wrote the other. Neither of us has a clue what the other wrote. I'd have to break it on the spot, and someone would notice."

"What if you got Slick to help you? He didn't seem happy about doing it either." Kaidan pondered Anna's latest idea.

"That might work. Let me look him –" Kaidan was interrupted by his omni-tool pinging. Kaidan gave her a silent warning and opened it. "Slick."

"Oil," Slick responded. "That's some real bullshit Champ is pulling on us. He's been tripling the number of times we raid. And the schedule is getting insane. I don't know how he expects us to keep the guild together once school hits."

"Me either. I know that soon enough, I won't have time for what he asks of us."

"Makes you want to leave the guild?" Kaidan stiffened a little, obviously wary. "Oil, you and I are in the same boat. If it weren't for the sweet loot I get for my characters, I'd've already bounced to the next guild. But he's the only one that gets this kind of loot."

"What if the GM's found out how he was getting the loot?" Kaidan hesitantly asked.

"You're serious? You want to tell the GM's? You'd get all of us in a shit-load of trouble!" Slick's voice became almost fearful.

"No. But we both know part of the stuff Champ exploits to get the crazy-awesome loot. If we take that info and threaten to go to the GM's, he'd have to let us out of the guild."Anna saw Slick bob his head for a few moments.

"Yeah, but we don't see him do any of that stuff unless he's in a raid." Anna suddenly thought of an idea and wouldn't let Kaidan keep her silent.

"What if you had someone hack his computer during a raid? He wouldn't see it with all the text rolling on his screen. I could be in and out with the information I needed." Slick's eyebrow popped up in response to Anna's sudden interjection. She tried to step into Slick's view screen, but Kaidan shot her a dirty look and kept her out of view.

"I like what she's saying. Don't tell me you were holding out on us before-hand, Oil, 'cause she sounds like a pretty little thing." Kaidan glared at the screen before speaking.

"It's settled then. We'll wait until the next raid, and _Shadow_," he looked at Anna, "will hack the vault while Champ and the others are gone. You got anything that can help her hide? I don't want to take a chance of Rose finding her." Kaidan resolved things, and Slick grinned from the interface.

"As a matter of fact, I do. They don't call me Slick for nothin'. Got something that might help. Drop by our normal hang-out tomorrow, and I'll see what I can get you. Oh, and make sure you bring Shadow. I wanna meet her." And with that, Slick signed off.

"Why do you talk in code?" Anna asked.

"In case anyone might overhear, including my parents. But Champ started it, mostly because he's paranoid," Kaidan added. "Do you think you can hack the vault during a job? If you can't, I can find a way to."

"I can," Anna insisted, leaning in. "Let's wait for a few hours, then head to this drop-off spot. We'll grab whatever it is Slick left us and take some time there and tonight to figure out what it does. Then we wait for the next job and let me hack the vault. After the job, you both confront him with the evidence and walk away." Together, the pair snuck back into the house and went to bed.

* * *

They waited until the next day before Kaidan offered to take Annalisa by the diner as a chance to get out of the house. Everyone agreed and let them borrow the hoverbike. Once they arrived at the diner, they saw Slick waiting for them.

"So she is as pretty as she sounds," Slick commented as Anna climbed off the bike.

"And you'll keep your mouth shut, or you get a mouth full of biotics, Slick." Kaidan threatened, stepping in front of Anna.

"Cool it Oil; I'm just admirin' your ability to bring a nice thing 'round these parts." Slick held his hands out, a toothpick still in his mouth.

"So what do you have for me?" Anna asked, moving from behind Kaidan. Slick jerked his head in response and they slipped into an alley, heading away from the warehouse to an abandoned building.

"Alliance prototype cloakin' device. I've got connections to people who work there." He shifted under their stern stares. "Look, if you don't want it, say so." At their silence, he nodded. "That's what I thought. Now it's still a prototype; won't work if you move quick. But if you're like molasses, ain't nobody gonna find you." He showed her how to work the cloaking device. Anna began practicing, moving slowly and understanding the different kinks to the prototype. After a few minutes, she turned to Slick under the cloak, testing to see if sound would set it off.

"How did Champ start all this anyway?" Anna asked Slick, curious as to how someone could have gathered a gang of people this good at stealing. The cloak didn't fritz at her voice, but the pair could clearly hear her.

"Champ was a street kid who got lucky. He's adopted. But for a few years, he was on the streets fending for his own life. He saw the worst of things and survived. I was one of the first ones he found as a fellow street kid. Also the first he found a home for. So at first, Champ stuck with me and we would lift medical supplies and spare food shipments for starving kids. We kept a small group from resorting to gangs. But then he started getting power-hungry. Once the kids were gone, all of them rescued off the streets, he started breaking into places because he could. Rose came around then. I really think she's been the bad influence. She's been the one picking the targets lately, and she does these things for kicks." Anna partly felt bad for Champ. His earlier works seemed to be for a good reason, but now it seemed that Rose ran things her way, manipulating Champ into whatever she wanted.

"Well, let's see if we can put a stop to Rose's plans," Anna stated as she decloaked. The others nodded, and Anna hoped she could help them get away from the bad squad.


	4. Getting Out of Trouble

Chapter 4: Getting out of Trouble

Two days later, Kaidan and Anna set out for the warehouse once more, with Anna bearing her cloaking device. They quietly slipped into an alley where they met with Slick.

"Oil," he greeted before he turned to Anna, "Shadow," he purred, and Kaidan frowned sternly at him before Slick shrugged. "Touchy. Alright, now slip under the cloak, Shadow. Here's my half of the code." Anna held out her omni-tool for the transfer, watching large sections of code download. She had seen Kaidan's section as well, and was now convinced that anyone outside of the group had no chance of cracking the vault without getting caught.

"You got everything, Shadow?" Kaidan asked, and she nodded absently, taking in what she needed from the code. She would need to flow between the two men's code to successfully get into the vault if she was reading this correctly.

"Champ sure is paranoid," she comment, and Slick huffed.

"_Rose_ is paranoid. Used to just be my code. Had to rewrite the majority of my old code to her new specs once Oil joined us." She could easily read the annoyance in Slick's tone and wondered just how many toes she had stepped on in this group. Better yet, she wondered whether she had stepped on Champ's toes yet.

"Either way, we shouldn't keep them waiting. Slick, wait here. We'll go first, then you leave three minutes after us. Take the long way back. We'll take the shortcut. Shadow, go ahead and cloak." Slick shrugged as Anna activated her cloak. "Keep up with me if you can. Let me know now if you can't. I'll give you as much time to get into the warehouse as I can."

"I will. Now let's move." Anna said, and she and Kaidan slid into another of the many alleys in Vancouver.

"Good luck, Shadow," Slick softly called as they left. Anna sincerely hoped that they would have luck tonight. They needed it. The walk was easy enough, and Anna was able to keep up with Kaidan. But as they reached the warehouse, her heart began to pound. If Champ or Rose found her, their plan would be dead in the water. Rose stepped out of the shadows to greet Kaidan, and Anna slid around him.

"Oil," Rose purred, and Anna quelled the urge to punch her in the face. "Glad you could make it. You haven't seen Slick, have you? The boys are getting restless." Fear froze Anna's stomach and legs, though Kaidan seemed unaffected.

"No. Should I have?" Champ opened the gate and walked towards Kaidan, giving Anna an open opportunity to slip into the warehouse. Anna glanced in and saw no one, so she made her slow attempt to slide inside, holding her breath and keeping one ear on the conversation.

"Leave him be. We'll need you again tonight, Oil." Anna heard Champ chuckle and looked in time to see him ruffle Kaidan's hair, who firmly stepped out of Champ's grasp.

"I told you no field work, Champ. Either I go home or you let me stay in the warehouse." This made Anna pause. She didn't want to be stuck in the warehouse alone and grew fearful before realizing that Kaidan had to be bluffing. Mentally shaking herself, she finished her journey into the warehouse.

"Fine," Champ growled. "Have it your way, but you _will_ do field work on the next three raids, or we pin this one on you. Got it?" Champ stepped forward, almost nose to nose with Kaidan, who seemed a little cowed.

"Very well," Kaidan answered. As she properly took in her surroundings, she noticed the other people that she had seen on Kaidan's last raid, but had never heard their names. Just as she was about to step completely away from the gate, she heard footsteps.

"Hey, Rose. Keep the gate open. I'm a comin'," Slick softly called, and Anna realized that he was stalling unnecessarily. So she reached for Kaidan's hand and softly squeezed his pinky finger. Kaidan glanced over to his side for a moment before a look of understanding crossed his eyes. He then leaned out into the alley.

"Hush, Slick, and move it. Or you'll get us all caught," he hissed at Slick. Slick then seemed to pick up his feet, and Anna saw everyone enter the warehouse and gather around Champ.

"Alright. Now that we're all here, we can start. Rose, me, and the boys will go and raid the Donnenson's building, just like we planned. _Someone_ decided to be a little chicken shit and make a fuss about staying here, so we're going to move Oil's job to here. Fortunately, that can happen, but now he owes us direct help on three raids. He and Slick will operate the door opening and security from here at the base. Crack, you and I will take the lead. Punch, you and Snake will cover our back. And Rose," he purred, and she preened for him. "You just do what you do best."

Everyone nodded and went to work. Everyone except Kaidan and Slick left, creeping out into the night. Slick went over to one corner of the warehouse where a sizeable intel seat was located. It reminded Anna of something like one of the junior intel desks at a planet-side outpost. But what little she could see of the text and interface scrolling by told her that the software wasn't Alliance. Kaidan came closer and, grabbing a nearby omni-tool, linked it to the network, stretching a less involved electronic interface next to it.

"We're getting into the vehicle. Check that the skies are clear." Anna heard Champ say from a tiny speaker near the setup.

"Checkin', hold." Slick answered. "You're good to go. Moon's clouded," he informed them a minute later through a headset. Shortly after that, Slick nudged Kaidan who stood and waved his arms. Anna assumed it was to get her attention and allowed her cloaking device to flicker. Kaidan caught the flicker and made a silencing motion at Slick. After another minute, Slick took off his headset. "We're clear. They can't hear us, and I didn't find anything to monitor us in here." With that, Anna decloaked and Kaidan moved towards one of the inner doors of the warehouse.

"That's the old manager's office. First you have to get through the door, then into the vault. The code is all that you need. Do you want me to help you?" Kaidan began to bring up his own omni-tool, ready to interface with the first lock.

"That should help move things along. Go ahead." She made room for him to crouch by the door as well, and the two set to work. Kaidan used his own code to hack in and let Anna use Slick's code. Together, the two almost undid the lock when they heard Champ's voice again.

"We're almost the drop site. I'm about to drop the team. Is the drop site clean?" Rose's voice demanded. Anna glanced back, and Slick's hands were flying across the interfaces. He made a silencing motion before answering.

"Just about. Give me two shakes and I'll clear it for yah." Kaidan leaned into Anna, almost pressing his mouth to her ear.

"I'm going to help Slick. If you want, you can finish this and start on the vault before I come back. You can wait for me, but I don't know when my next chance will be before the team heads back." Anna nodded and waved him off. She would do what she had to.

Kaidan stood and quietly crossed to Slick, while Anna took control of both omni-tools. Having both interfaces made it easier to go between the two, and Anna finished the door's lock. Moving from there, things were easier with the vault, which surprisingly was a vault. It was an old vault, and she wondered where they got it from. But she didn't want to disturb them or risk being overheard, so she carried on silently. It was quite a while longer before Kaidan joined her again, and by then, she was halfway through cracking the vault. Kaidan's presence sped the rest of the hacking, and soon they were staring at the vault's contents: a data pad and a hard copy of the past year's raids.

"Bingo. Here's your ticket out. Let me start a data copy." Anna pulled out her omni-tool, but Kaidan stopped her.

"I don't want to chance this getting back to you. Let the copy go to this omni-tool." Kaidan went back into the main warehouse to get the spare omni-tool and hooked it to the pad. From there, he gave a copy to her and himself before deleting the data and transfer from them. "Now let's close the door. We don't want them thinking anything is wrong until you're gone." From there, they worked to cloak Anna and get her outside of the warehouse doors before the rest of the group got back. They nearly cut it close, with Anna only waiting outside the warehouse for two minutes before the group returned. After they passed into the warehouse and closed the gate, Anna leaned against the door, listening to the conversation inside.

"Well done, everyone. We're going to make a smaller raid tomorrow night. Remember, Oil. You're going with us then," Champ ordered.

"No I'm not," Kaidan calmly answered. Anna held her breath as the warehouse went silent.

"I don't think I heard you right. I've got evidence that you were the mastermind behind this last raid, and you think you can tell me no?" Champ had gotten used to everyone answering to his whim, and Anna knew they were messing with a potentially dangerous enemy. It killed her not be next to Kaidan, doing something to eliminate Champ.

"And I've got evidence for all of last year's raids. If you try to pin that on me, I can lead them to who was involved on what over the past year. I'm sure there are plenty of companies that want their items back." Kaidan kept his cool, but Anna could guess that both of their knees were quaking.

"Yeah, and I'm leavin' with him. I'm done with all 'a you, and I got that info too. So you'll let both of us go."

"That's impossible." Rose's tone couldn't match the composure of Kaidan's, and Anna heard her fear. "You couldn't have hacked into the vault."

"Yes we did. Go look at it for yourself. It's unlocked. Now unless you want us to go to the Vancouver PD, you won't ever bother us again. We're leaving the guild for good." Anna held her breath, scared that their information may not be enough to keep Champ from beating them.

"Go. You outsmarted us. Just go," Rose spat, and Anna's jaw fell in shock. Rose didn't seem the type to easily let go, but she wouldn't doubt it. She stepped away from the door to give the boys room to leave. Not a minute later, Kaidan and Slick quickly walked out of the warehouse, walking in the same direction until they were well outside of hearing range.

"We did it," Slick sighed in relief. "Now Shadow, I'mma need a copy of that manifesto. Ain't no way I'mma leave my ass hanging out in the breeze with no way of keeping it from gettin' smacked." He held out his omni-tool for emphasis, and Anna hesitantly made the transfer. She shared an uneasy glance with Kaidan as she then handed the cloaking device back to Slick.

"This is yours, and we couldn't have done this without it." Slick smiled at the device, then up at her.

"Naw. I'll let y'all keep it. 'Sides, you're a pretty little thing, and I would like tuh think I'm keepin' yuh safe out there." He winked her, and she felt grossed out. There was something very wrong with how he looked at her.

"We don't need your help, Slick." Kaidan growled behind her, and Anna gratefully took a step back.

"Later, Oil. Shadow." Slick tipped an imaginary hat at Anna before he turned around and began running softly, slipping into the night. After a minute of silent waiting, Anna turned at Kaidan, who shook his head.

"We don't have any need for it, and I don't want this staying out of Alliance hands." Kaidan stood still for a minute before he grabbed the object from Anna's hand and hurled it at the wall. She jumped, startled by the unexpected move as Kaidan lit his omni-tool. "Help me grab the pieces. We'll drop them in dumpsters along the way to the bus. Nobody will be able to piece it together. Anything looks too big, stomp on it." They continued looking and stomping until Kaidan made a noise of triumph. "There's a tracker in this, and a bug. Quite smart, Slick. But we never intended to keep it." Kaidan hurled the two bits away from them and they sprinted in the other direction, making random turns and dumping bits into dumpsters at random intervals. Five minutes later, they were standing at the bus stop, satisfied at how far they'd spread the piece of tech. And maybe tonight, she and Kaidan could get some real sleep.

* * *

Kaidan woke the next morning in good spirits. The good mood carried him through the day, a lazy day spent in the Alenko orchard, and the evening brought a wonderful sunset. He stepped out onto the porch to find Anna with her face almost pressed into one of his books and music playing. His primary concern was for the book, and he walked over to Anna first.

"What are you doing to _The Silver Chair_?" He asked, and Anna peaked at him from the side.

"Don't look out into the orchard. I can't stop him, and any emotional scaring are your own burdens. I warned you." Kaidan stared at Anna after her declaration, perplexed as to why she would say something like that. It was then that his father decided to step onto the porch with two beers. The man then proceeded to bend over laughing.

"Kennan, you're embarrassing the shit out of your daughter. Put the girl out of her misery and stop dancing. We all know you can't dance to save your damn life," his father proclaimed, and Kaidan finally turned to see just what was going on. It seemed that Kennan Shepard had brought a music player out there and was doing some strange interpretation of dancing out in the orchard. His father was quite right, the Commander couldn't dance. But an idea sprung into his head, and he gently took the book from Anna before pulling her up and out of her chair.

"What are you doing?" She asked, perplexed as he set the book on the railing.

"Showing your dad how it's done." At that, Anna attempted to dig her heels in.

"Oh no. No no no no!" For all of Anna's insistence, Kaidan still managed to drag her out into the orchard.

"Nobody's out here. No one will judge. Just dance and relax. The music isn't half bad either. What is this? I can't understand any of it," he asked Kennan.

"That's because you're not supposed to. They're scatting. It's an old Earth term for sounds we make that are just filler. They're sound and song without lyrics, but it isn't humming," Kennan explained, and Kaidan nodded. He had now learned something new today. After a few moments of consideration, he began dancing. It was obvious that Anna wouldn't if he wasn't willing to make a fool of himself too.

"Come on," Kaidan insisted. "You can't be as bad as your dad. How's your mom with dancing?"

"I don't know. I don't see her dance too much. Not as bad as dad? And how the hell is my dancing talent supposed to depend on them?" Anna all but snapped back, crossing her arms, though she stopped frowning once she started to watch him dance.

"Exactly. You could be a wonderful dancer for all you know. You'll never know if you don't try." He held his hand out. He couldn't dance a partner dance very well, but he knew enough to keep from stepping on her toes. She sighed and took his hand.

"You'll pay for this later," she threatened as she followed his steps. She hadn't stepped on his toes immediately, so he took that as a good sign.

"Alright. But at least give this a chance. You aren't doing terribly," she seemed to stare at him for a moment before lowering her guard, letting him lead her around the orchard before he finally let go. "Now dance on your own. You've shown that you can dance."

"If I dance for a few minutes, am I off the hook?" He grinned at her.

"Only if you enjoy it." Anna made a face at him before she shook her head and began to dance. It wasn't the most graceful dancing he'd seen, but it was better than her father. And that was a start.

AN: Ok, on the last bit, with Kaidan dragging Shepard into dancing, my inspiration was the Garrus Vakarian Mass Effect 3 Citadel date, mostly the tone of Shepard saying 'what are you doing'. It cracks me up every time. And I wanted to show the origins of the Shepard shuffle. I really don't think it's all that bad, and in my mind Kennan Shepard is much worse than his daughter. And sometimes kids just get a bad gene. Unfortunately, science hasn't been able to pick out which one dancing is, so Shepard is out of luck.


	5. A Trip

Chapter 4.5: A Trip

The next week passed in a joyful blur. Kaidan was no longer under the shadow of his old guild. Anna and Kaidan both kept a copy of what they had pulled, but Champ and Rose hadn't come after Kaidan. They had gone to the mountain again, spent a day on the beach, and even went window shopping one day in Downtown Vancouver. Their evenings had been spent in the Alenko living room, sharing stories or reading some of Kaidan's collection. Neither could have imagined the wonderful time they had that week. But at the end of the week, Kennan and Annalisa packed their bags. Kennan was heading out for another tour while Anna would be accompanied to Arcturus by Lieutenant Wilson, an officer friend of Kennans, for a rendezvous with Captain Hannah Shepard's ship. Kaidan had asked to go with them to the drop-off since Anna and the Lieutenant wouldn't leave Vancouver before the next morning, and everyone had agreed. As they walked through Downtown Vancouver, Kennan cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to air something out before I left," he started, and Kaidan and Anna gave him a confused look. "I'm glad you left that gang, Kaidan." He and Anna froze in their steps. _He knows,_ Kaidan realized. _He told Mom and Dad, and I'm going to be in so much trouble._ "I didn't tell your parents," Kennan confessed, and the tension seemed to melt, leaving Kaidan a relieved mess. "But Anna was dumb to climb out of the house right next to my window. So I waited for you two on the edge of the property and overheard the conversation about the gang. I also overheard your victory. You were dumb to get involved in them. But I know you had to be shrewd to get out, and it was valiant of you to help him, Lisa." Anna seemed to hover on the edge of the conversation, unsure of what she should say.

"I couldn't just let it keep happening," she offered as explanation, and Kennan ruffled her hair affectionately.

"I know sweetheart. You picked it up from life on a ship. But you kids should have come to any of us adults. We could have fished you out of trouble a lot easier. You were reckless in pursuing him, but you were smart in convincing him to get out. Either way, as long as you two stay out of trouble, you'll do well." He went and hugged both of them and resumed his walk. "Now Kaidan. You'll be staying with my daughter for a little while longer than I will. So I am going to make you promise me something. Give me your solemn word that when I am not here, you will protect my daughter. She dear and precious to me, and I will not stand for any harm to come to her while a friend can protect her. Do I have your word?"

"You have my word, Commander. I won't let anything bad happen to her," Kaidan sincerely swore, and Kennan nodded, satisfied with the promise.

"Come on then, Wilson won't wait all day and neither will my flight." The three began walking again as Anna shook her head.

"You know I'll be fine, Dad." She said, swinging her braided hair to her other shoulder.

"I know, but when you're with friends, I want to make sure that they'll protect you. I love you, Lisa. You'll understand when you have kids of your own and you've served." At that moment, Kennan's omni-tool rang. "We're heading over to you now, Wilson."

"I need your help, Kennan. I called the Vancouver PD, but they won't be here for a while. There was a woman attacked, and she is having a fit." As if to punctuate his plea, there was a loud sob from outside of Wilson's screen.

"Please. Please don't leave me. They'll come back." Neither of them could see her, but the woman's voice sounded downright terrified. Kennan sighed and looked at Anna before turning back to the vid call.

"Alright. We're heading over there now. We'll stay until Vancouver PD gets there." Kennan agreed.

"I'm sending you my location now. Get here soon and then I'll see what I can do about getting you a ride back to HQ," Wilson said before he hung up. Kennan looked at his omni-tool for a minute longer before he set their path. Ten minutes later, and they finally found the alleyway where Wilson and the woman were supposed to be. But as they walked down the alley, everything was quiet for five seconds before they heard a woman's scream.

"I need both of you to be quiet and stay behind me," Kennan instructed as he pulled a pistol from one of his pockets. Anna and Kaidan formed up behind him, and Kaidan grabbed Kennan's bag, putting it on his back instead. The three then quickly moved forwards as a second scream resounded. But as they turned another corner, they saw a small open area with Wilson and the screaming woman. Only the screaming woman wore an outfit with a strange insignia. "Lieutenant, what the hell are you doing with a Cerberus operative?" _Cerberus,_ Kaidan thought. He then remembered bits of one of Kennan's conversations with his father. The Commander had fought Cerberus in the past. _This is going nowhere good fast._ The woman smiled at Kennan's question, pointing a gun at them.

"Handing Cerberus a nosy Alliance Commander." She said with a strange smile that made Kaidan shudder.

"I was hoping you would bring the Alenko boy as well. He's one of the strongest biotics Conatix rolled out, and Cerberus has been waiting for a good opportunity to get him." The blood drained from Kaidan's face with every word from Wilson.

"You're a good person, Wilson. Let these kids go. Take me if you want, but let them go." Kaidan could see Kennan make a few motions with his omni-tool behind his back, but Kaidan couldn't make any sense of it.

"Cerberus wants the Alenko boy as well. Why should we let him go?" The woman asked, smiling at Kaidan, and for the first time in a long while, he knew to be very afraid of this person. Her smile was eerily similar to Rose, a smile that only showed when she knew you were good and trapped.

"Let the boy choose. If he doesn't choose you, pursue him. But let the boy make his own choice. He deserves that much. Let him sort out the loyalties for himself." Kennan reached behind with one hand and began to push at him. Kaidan took the cue to back up, one arm firmly around Anna, his right hand prepping the pneumonic for a barrier.

"Hmm. I'm tempted, but not quite convinced. Sweeten the deal for me," she stage-whispered, bending forward, making a 'come hither' gesture and extending the gun in one fluid motion.

"I'll go with you willingly if you let them go," Kennan stated, and Anna made a noise beside him as three fully armored Cerberus agents stepped out of shadows. "I'll lead the Alliance away from here. I'll send them to the kids, and they'll never find us." The woman straightened and took a few steps towards Kennan.

"You heard him, brats. Scram," she declared, but when Kaidan tried to move Anna, she wouldn't budge.

"Go, Lisa," Kennan softly begged. "I love you, and I'll find a way back." He turned his gaze to Kaidan. "Take care of her."

"You have my word, sir," Kaidan answered, and he moved Anna more forcefully back the way they came. After they turned the first corner, he forced Anna into a run. He could only hope that they could put enough distance between them and the Cerberus men before they decided that the two of them were an easy target.


	6. Run

Chapter 5: Run

Kaidan heard a single gunshot and didn't need to turn to know what had happened. Before he could take another step, a tug on his arm halted him. Anna had turned around and was staring at Kennan.

"Daddy!" It was the only time he'd heard her scream in panic, the only time he'd heard her use that term. She stood still for a moment, and before he could reach out to grab her, she was sprinting back. He couldn't run now. As she knelt over her father's body, her eyes grew a crazed look and she suddenly glowed blue. _Is she-_he hadn't fully articulated the thought before she threw her arm out and threw a ball of biotic energy towards one of the Cerberus troops with a feral scream.

"Shoot to capture! They're both biotics!" Kaidan heard one of the men shout.

"You bastards won't take me alive!" She screamed back before unloading her father's pistol on them. By that time, he had run close enough to her, close enough to see the blood shine as it poured from her nose.

"Come on!" He shouted as he grabbed her by the waist, enveloping both of them in a biotic shield as best as he could. He heard her shout as a bullet grazed her. This seemed to put fire in both of their steps as they suddenly shot down an alley and down several turns before running into an abandoned building. They ran up a flight of stairs before stopping, both trying to catch their breath while listening for pursuing footsteps. A trickle of blood from the earlier cut was starting to get in his eye, and he brushed it away impatiently. A glance at Anna told him that the nosebleed had barely phased her; however, the wound on her arm was bleeding too. Fortunately, the bullet only grazed her. He then looked around the room they were in. _Is that?-_he walked over to inspect the spigot he saw. A quick handle turn showed that the water was running and clean enough. He then found several scraps of cloth. _Not the most sanitary thing, but it'll hold for now._ "You hear anything?" He whispered as he approached Anna.

"No. I think we lost them." She was still tense, and her voice was clipped.

"Good. Let's clean our wounds then." He led her over to the spigot. "But first we need to take care of your nose." She brought a hand to her face in curiosity, looking surprised when she found a small amount of blood on her hand. "It's mostly dried, but cleaning it won't hurt." He got one cloth wet and began wiping off the dried blood. "I'm guessing you didn't know you were a biotic." She softly shook her head as he leaned in to get a closer look at her. He felt his heart begin to pound in response to her nearness. He could feel her breath, light on his wrist and fingers. He could smell the burnt eezo on her. _This is so not the time for this, body, _he thought as he pulled himself away. "Just keep that under your nose and that should catch the trailing edge of the nosebleed." He said as he handed her the bloody rag.

"I don't see how this helps either of us." She murmured softly.

"We need to at least keep our wounds bandaged if we're going to keep running. Now this won't be medigel, but it should keep the wound clean for now." He grabbed her arm to change the subject. He didn't want her panicking. But he kept taking one hand away to wipe blood out of his eye or keep it from falling into her wound, destroying any chance he had of helping her.

* * *

"You'll never be able to properly clean that if you have blood in your eyes. Now stop being a hypocrite and stay still." She leaned in, taking a new rag and cleaning his wound as well as she could. She then tied a rag around his head to keep the rough bandage in place. It wasn't until she was almost finished that she realized how close they were. She could feel his breath on her collarbone, and she was sure he could hear her heart thudding. _Now is no time for that. You need to keep your eyes sharp. Keep moving._ She shook herself mentally as she tied the knot and stepped back. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked him, a little sass in her voice.

"No, and you shouldn't have any trouble staying still." He reached down again to grab her arm again, but his eyebrows furrowed. "What's this?" His question barely reached her ears as the world began to spin. She shook her head again in an attempt to clear it. "Hey, look at me." Her eyes focused on him after a moment. "You're pale. Sit." He didn't have to push very hard for her to sit on a box next to the water spout. "There must be some sort of taint on these bullets." She was suddenly sweating and used a shaking hand to her wipe her forehead. _This is _definitely_ not good,_ she realized. "We have to get out of here. This is good enough for now, but we have to move before they find us." She nodded as she slowly stood. "Can you run?" He knelt down to look directly in her eyes as she gave a shaky nod. "Then let's go. I'll check that the coast is clear, and then we'll run." He slunk to a corner, carefully peering down the stairs. He nodded and they crept down the stairs, hiding again. For a second time, he peered around, looking for troops. He gave a second nod, and they took off running again.

* * *

"There they are! Get them!" A voice sounded behind them, and Kaidan seemed to gain a second wind as he pulled them around a corner. But as they reached relative darkness, he heard Anna grunt followed by a thud as her hand slid from his. He turned to see her collapsed and shaking on the ground. _She won't be able to run. They'll capture us if we stay here._ He quickly came up with an idea, but hesitated for a moment. He then knelt and scooped Anna up in his arms.

"Come on. We have to get out of here." He whispered to her as he used his biotics to lift her. Then he took off running. He just started taking turns.

"Other way," she whispered when the shouts started getting closer. He then started to use her for direction, letting his muscles and biotics take over. They finally dashed into another building as gunfire and more shouting erupted around them. By the time he ran up the flight of stairs, he was almost exhausted. Fortunately, there were boxes everywhere. He went to the back of the room and set her down on the floor. By then, they were both shaking and covered in sweat.

* * *

"I need you to stay here. I'll make sure nobody gets back here. If they take me, don't come out." His words brought her back to her senses. _No, not again,_ she thought.

"No," she defiantly whispered. But she knew she couldn't fight now. She was too weak and would only make an easy target. Footsteps thudding up the stairs halted their conversation. Anna pulled out her father's gun and Kaidan wreathed himself in biotics, senses trained on the door, when a large black man in Alliance blue walked through the door, gun pointed.

"Hold your fire! Friendlies!" He shouted at the others behind him. "And bring a medic up here while you're at it," he added before lowering his gun. "Easy there. Put the gun down. I'm putting mine down. We're not going to hurt you. We're with the Alliance." He held one hand open while the other slowly placed the gun on a crate. Kaidan stopped his show of biotics, but Anna spoke instead of lowering her weapon, unwilling to trust the stranger.

"How do we know you're Alliance?" She was surprised by the weakness in her voice.

"How about these? I'm gonna toss them to you." He pulled out something shiny from his uniform and tossed it to Kaidan.

"It's his dog tags. He's Alliance alright." Kaidan showed her the object in question. "David Anderson" was what it read. Anna then lowered her gun, feeling the world spin again as she leaned against the crate.

"Get the medic over here. She needs to be looked at." Anderson commanded. A medic then hurried into the room, gently nudging Kaidan to the side.

* * *

"I need to get a better look at her, son." The soldier's voice was gentle, and Kaidan finally conceded, walking over to this Anderson man.

"How did you find us?" He asked.

"Commander Shepard sent a distress signal. The signal said that there were civilians with him. You both did admirably. Most civilians wouldn't have made it this long." Kaidan absently nodded as he leaned against a crate, exhausted and hungry. His stomach made its protest, and Anderson tossed him a snack bar, which Kaidan promptly wolfed down. "You're certainly hungry. Those troops interrupt lunch?" Anderson asked politely. Kaidan shook his head in response.

"Biotics always make me hungry. Carrying her definitely made it worse though," he replied. Anderson turned to the medic.

"You got any energy bars on you, Titus? We've got a hungry biotic here who's earned 'em." The medic nodded and tossed Anderson one. "There. That should tie you over until we can reach a facility."

"Thank you, sir." Kaidan managed between mouthfuls.

"Now I'm going to have to sedate you until we can get you to a hospital." Kaidan heard the medic say, followed by Anna's vehement 'no' in response. He got up and began to walk towards her.

"Kaidan," Her voice was tinted with fear as she called for him, and he scrambled to get near her, crawling on top of a crate to be next to her. Her hand instantly shot out to him, and he gripped it.

"If it makes it easier, I won't separate you two." The two nodded immediately, and the medic sighed. "Alright. Here's the dose." She closed her eyes, and he squeezed her hand when he saw the shot go in. He didn't let go of her hand; not even when her grip slackened and her eyes lazily drifted open once more.

"I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere. I'll see you when you wake up." He whispered before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her grip completely slackened.

"Son, you need to let go for a minute. She won't get out of your sight, but we have to get her out of here." Anderson's hand was on his shoulder as Kaidan slowly nodded, letting her arm fall. True to his word, Anderson kept Kaidan within sight of Anna as they walked. "Now, what are your names?" He asked as they stepped into an Alliance transport.

"I'm Kaidan Alenko. That's Annalisa Shepard."

"Do you know where Kennan is?" He gently asked.

"He's dead, sir. We saw it." He numbly answered.

"I'm sorry, kid. I know this is tough, but do you know who attacked you?" Anderson gently prodded.

"Cerberus. I remember Dad and the Commander mentioning that he had recently done a mission that involved them, but I don't know the specifics." Anderson nodded and gave a deep rumble as he contemplated the information. Kaidan quietly reached over and took Anna's hand.


	7. Mourning

Chapter 6: The Funeral and Mourning

It seemed fitting to Kaidan that they held the funeral on a Wednesday. It was an indistinct day. There was a fog that morning that had only just started to lift, leaving everything a little hazy. Anna and Hannah seemed to be taking it as well as any family could, given the circumstances. There had been some friends who gave their condolences before the ceremony, but everything was small and kept to the family. Anna had flinched for the first shot in the 18 gun salute, but remained still through the rest of it. After the service, everyone went back to Kaidan's home. It wasn't until later that Kaidan heard either of them lose their cool.

* * *

"I'm going with you! I'm not leaving you alone!" He heard Anna shout from upstairs.

"Anna, I have a ship to run! You have to receive your implant! Karin can't do that; she isn't skilled enough! You are staying on Earth, young lady!" Kaidan heard the unmistakable sound of Anna stomping. "What are you doing?" A muffled reply. "YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

"Or what?! You'll make me leave Earth? You'll send me to an orphanage?! YOU'RE ALL THE FAMILY I HAVE LEFT!" Anna was panting by the time she reached the bottom of the steps. "Oh wait, that's right. You don't want me anymore. FINE!" A flash of red and black bolted through the door and outside. Kaidan quickly got up, running to his hoverbike while Hannah ran after Annalisa.

"I'll look for her. Maybe I can calm her before I bring her back," he shouted as he rode into Hannah's range. Hannah stopped and nodded to Kaidan.

"Just come back before dark!" Kaidan acknowledged the order and left. He had a good guess as to where Annalisa was heading. And his hunch was correct. He found her near a pond on the edge of the tree farm. She was moodily kicking at the stones on the pond's edge. Before he could announce his presence, she took a stone and threw it at a tree, listening to it ping off. Kaidan didn't wish to disturb her, so he kept the hoverbike silent. She threw stone after stone, working out her frustration. He felt her biotic power wind up before she threw the stone, readying himself to react to her. She couldn't be forcing it. That biotic throw launched the stone through the worn dent in the tree, cleaving it. Before it could fall on her, he shifted the tree's momentum, shielding her. Anna looked around, then looked at her hands.

"I was hoping I'd find you here instead of somewhere worse," Kaidan stated as he revealed his presence. Anna started and whipped around, relaxing when she realized who followed her.

"I just want to go with Mom. I just want to keep her safe." He powered down the hoverbike and got off, softly approaching Anna.

"I know. And she wants to protect you as well. Right now, getting the implant is the best thing. And all the best surgeons are here, on Earth. It's also better that you do it here because I," he tapped his implant for emphasis, "am also a biotic. I happen to know what you will be going through. Not to mention the fact that my parents will be able to handle taking care of another biotic teenager. They'll also have a lot of advice for your mom. Plus, it'll be harder for you to train elsewhere because other biotics will have had a few more years of experience than you. But if I give you help here, I can try to make up the difference. It won't be easy, but if we both work at it, we can do it."

"We?" He heard the suspicion in her voice and almost laughed.

"Teaching isn't just you listening and doing what I say, though that is a big part of it. It would also be me teaching you how to be a biotic. Being patient with you." She punched his arm as he placed an emphasis on patient. "Now are you ready to head back?" Anna took a deep breath before nodding. "Get on, then." He slipped onto the bike and Anna curled up behind him, letting the auto-pilot take them home. "It'll get better. I promise. Just come to me when things are getting bad, ok?" He felt her nod against his back, and he squeezed her hands.

* * *

The next few days were tense, but somehow they managed to pass the time without another major outburst. But as things wound up to the surgery, Kaidan grew more worried for Annalisa. He heard their parents talking, and their talks were always laced with worry about the girl. He often caught her staring off into blank space, and he couldn't fully set aside his fear for her. Nights were rarely peaceful, even though Hannah had taken to sleeping in the same bed as Anna. So when she didn't come back down after lunch, Kaidan took it upon himself to head up to her room and make sure Anna was ok.

He found Annalisa sitting in the dark, staring at Kennan's omni-tool. She then reached over and touched a few buttons. An old, slinky jazz tune started up. Kaidan quietly began to approach her as the singer started singing.

"It's "Sunny" by Frank Sinatra. Dad wanted to play the original version by The Mills Brothers at his wedding, but Mom loves Frank Sinatra. They stumbled on this version by accident, and this was their first dance." She whispered to no one in particular as she continued to stare off into space. "I keep waiting for him to walk through the door: battered but here; injured but safe; tired but alive." He could barely make out the last words as he drew closer to her. He finally put a hand on her shoulder, and she all but barreled into his arms. He gave a small 'oof' in response, but didn't push her away. They both knew she had been avoiding the idea of therapists, and she needed to release her emotions. And she finally began to sob in his arms. "He used to sing it to me when Mom and I would get on the same ship as him. He'd hug us and rock us as he sang it," she choked out between sobs. He hugged her all the tighter as he felt his own heart ache for her. And the whole time, Frank Sinatra sang to them, oblivious to the pain in what Kaidan realized should have been a joyful song.

_My sunny one shines so sincere_

_Sunny one so true, I love you_

He finally began to rock her as she continued to sob, trying to bring her any comfort he could. Slowly, she began to embrace the rocking, and he began to rock them in time to the music.

_Sunny, sunny, thank you for the sunshine bouquet  
Sunny, thank you for the love that you brought my way_

She was beginning to shake again, though he didn't feel more tears falling onto his shirt.

_You gave to me your all and all  
Now I feel just about ten feet tall  
Sunny one so true, I love you  
_

He looked down to see Annalisa with her eyes closed, singing along. But her voice held such sadness, it almost broke his heart. She was finally dancing with him, singing along. He held her long after the song was over, until the next bout of tears had stopped. He would be there for her. He would be the friend she needed for however long she needed him.


	8. Post-Surgery

Chapter 7: Post-Surgery

AN: Alright, here's my big biotics headcannon for how it all works.

Essentially, the amp amplifies neural signals meant for eezo nodes. It essentially stimulates the brain to make extra chemical signals and release them in larger amounts. So instead of the nodule releasing a little bit of power, it gets a lot of power. The implant interfaces between the amp and the body, allowing the amp's electrical signals to be sent to the proper parts of the brain. You can't just tap into any nerve. It's a carefully constructed highway. But the body and mind need to get used to it, so after surgery is strenuous on the body.

* * *

The doctors had flowered it up and thrown in intelligent terms and statistics, but it all boiled down to the same thing for Annalisa Shepard. They were going to stick a piece of metal in her head and all but fuse it to her brain to make every biotic thought stronger. They had attempted to calm her and her mother with numbers, though Kaidan had proven far more helpful with realistic translations, and his parents had given her mom more advice and stories to explain most of what would happen. But that didn't stop her heart from racing as she laid on a hospital bed, a doctor administering a sedative and her mother and Kaidan gripping her hands.

"We'll all be right here when you get out," her mother assured her, but Anna couldn't keep the ridiculous thought that a bolt of lightning would strike her implant if she went out in a storm from breaking through her calm. She couldn't stay in Vancouver. Why couldn't Karin have done this? She would have done the same things as when Anna was little, running to the doctor with scrapes and bruises for medigel, lollipops, and holo-stickers.

"You aren't alone, ok? Never forget that. We're here for you." Kaidan's words provided some comfort as she felt the world fade to black.

* * *

Hannah Shepard had been pacing for ten minutes before one of the surgeons came out.

"Is she alright?" Hannah asked before the man could say anything. Kaidan felt for her, and realized that this was probably how his parents had been.

"Annalisa is doing very well. We've mapped all of her nodule nerves, and they were all healthy and functioning at high capacity. We only tested for longer because we wanted to be sure. We're about to start pairing the implant with her nerves. I'm going to go assist them with that." The doctor was calm and very polite, and Hannah seemed to sag in relief. The small knot of tension in Kaidan's gut loosened as well. They all knew that the surgery could go badly, but the surgeons in Vancouver knew what they were doing with the L3 implants.

"Thank you, Doctor. We'll let you get to your work now." Kaidan's father stood, wrapping an arm around Hannah's shoulders in support. Hannah nodded her agreement and went to sit back with them again as the surgeon left the room. They all were silent for a few minutes as Hannah put her head in her hands.

"Is it this terrifying? This helplessness? The waiting?" Hannah asked them in almost desperation, and Kaidan's heart ached for her.

"Yes," his mother answered simply. "But the day that Kaidan went into surgery, there were three others who went under around the same time. The surgeons there worked almost the entire day to give most of the children their implants. We all just held each other, prayed together, paced together. Hearing good news for any of the kids lifted all of our spirits." Hannah sighed in relief and walked over, embracing the other woman. "Just because you're a Captain doesn't make you invincible or immune to this kind of pain. You're a mother, and your child is in surgery. That's stressful for anyone." Kaidan felt awkward at not being able to contribute much, but he was interested to know more about what had happened behind the scenes with Conatix.

"How did they keep people from bothering you and the others? I know that we saw protestors outside, but how did they keep the protestors from coming inside?" Kaidan had wondered about things like this for a while, but had never had a reason to ask his parents.

"Conatix hired bodyguards to guard the entrance to this floor and the surgical wing. The hospital didn't complain because of all the protestors." His father shook his head as he continued. "I still remember some of them shouting at us when we brought you here. There was one man who kept shouting that we were arming 22nd century atom bombs. That this was the new Manhattan Project, and that we were dooming civilization to another Cold War and another World War. That we were making devils." The distant and closed-off look in his father's eyes was unexpected, and he reached for his father's hand at the pained tone.

"We always wondered about Conatix, but they were the only ones who could help you. We had no other choice. But now biotics are in much better hands, and Anna will have an easier time," his mother assured. "And people are changing as well. Slowly but surely. They no longer camp out for each surgery. And she'll grow up around Alliance folks who have a better appreciation for biotics. It'll be alright. You'll see."

"Thank you all. It means a great deal to both of us that you're here. And I was going to step out and get a cup of coffee. Do any of you want me to bring back more?" Hannah offered, making to stand.

"I do, and I think Molly does too." Kaidan saw his mother nod. "So I'll help you carry all the cups back." His father stood as well and opened the door for the Captain, leading her towards where the coffee machine was as Kaidan and his mother settled in for another round of waiting.

* * *

Her whole head ached. When did she hit her head this bad? Last time she hit herself anywhere near this hard had been chasing one of the smaller kids a few years back. He was going to get himself hurt, crawling in the ducts, so she chased after him. However, she had missed a low-hanging bar and speed-crawled straight into it. It had left a nasty cut and bruise as well as a day-long headache. But this time was several times worse than her previous injury. Every _thought_ hurt and she gave a low groan, which she cut short as the sound hit her ears.

"It's alright dear." She gently tried to cover her ear, paying little attention to the voice or the words.

"Hey there." She finally processed these words and chanced cracking her eyes open. The sheer amount of light in the room made her shut them closed again. She could feel every muscle in her face. She heard shuffling and some light rattling before she heard more shuffling.

"Miss Shepard," a female voice whispered. "I'm going to give you some more painkillers. This should help your tolerance to light and sound." Anna felt herself relax as she processed the statement and felt the slight burn of medicine in her arm. _Relief._ Time slowly ticked by after the shuffling stopped, and Anna finally dared to crack an eye open again. In the dark, she saw Kaidan and her mother.

"Hey," Kaidan leaned forward and spoke, using his lips more than his voice.

"Hey," she replied.

"How's your head?" He didn't bother to veil his concern.

"Ow," he gave a soft chuckle before he took one of the hands still covering her head. Gingerly, he moved it to the edge of the bed. He turned to Hannah, who gladly took Anna's hand. Anna attempted to give a smile, and Hannah returned the gesture with a weak one of her own.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," her mother mouthed. Anna responded by squeezing her hand twice. Hannah gingerly kissed her hand. Anna began to roll over so she could see her mother better when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Kaidan was shaking his head 'no'.

"You'll roll onto the bandages if you do. Trust me when I say that you don't want to." Anna started to nod her head before she winced, pain lancing down her neck. Kaidan was now gripping her other hand, squeezing it and rubbing circles. As the pain subsided, she looked at Kaidan.

"Anything else that will hurt?" She asked. He contemplated for a moment before responding.

"Rolling over, loud noises, bright lights, moving your neck, and making faces," he rattled off. She shot him a look before she corrected her facial expression. "I told you. It's tough at first. I spent the first two days just sleeping and eating. You might not have to stay like that for as long, since you have an L3, but still. For me, there were headaches for a while afterwards. Oh, and you remember having growing pains right?" She mouthed 'yes' in response. "You get those, but in your neck. It's your muscles trying to get used to the amp." She stared to grimace, ending in just gripping Kaidan's hand. After that, she felt her hand transferred again as her mother rubbed it gently. Anna reached out her other hand towards Kaidan and closed her eyes, letting the medicine take her back to sleep.

* * *

She spent the next day and a half exactly as Kaidan had said. Hannah, Kaidan, and his parents were all but permanent residents with her. Later, she was glad that she had been in a single occupant room, which gave all of them the privacy they needed. Though it was obvious why she was: biotics were so sensitive to everything that trying to have more than one recovering biotic to a room would only slow the healing of both patients.

But after that first spell, she was quickly recovering, becoming less sensitive to light and sound. She was also developing her biotic appetite, polishing off whatever was set in front of her. The doctors were all optimistic, saying that she was recovering on time and would be out of the hospital in a week. Anna was happy. She had spent far too long in a hospital for her own good, or so she believed. By the time the doctors were running tests, she could lie on her back without too much pain, but she took to sleeping on her side at nights. Unfortunately, she'd had one bout of 'growing pain' every night, though the doctors all insisted that was normal. Kaidan had also been essential in helping her recover, and the doctors had happily allowed him and his parents to stay after they told the doctors that he was a fellow biotic.

The day before she left the hospital, Kaidan's parents didn't come to the hospital. They spent their time getting the house ready for Anna and stocking up on food and some medigel. Fortunately, her transfer home also went without incident. Kaidan said that his was not, since there had been surgeries for over a dozen biotics in Vancouver's premier neurosurgical center. Plenty of protesters had come out, calling for the surgeries to be stopped and even for the young teens to be quarantined. They had been called freaks and monsters when they left, heckled as they raced to their hovercar. Anna realized just how much things had improved, and hoped they improved further for other generations of biotics as she settled back into the house.

The next week proved difficult as she spent most of her time recuperating in the living room. While she wanted less noise and light, her biotics were beginning to show themselves, randomly spawning areas of distorted physics. Kaidan stayed closer than ever, countering whatever she happened to create. Even though she continually apologized, everyone took the changes in stride, saying that she didn't have to be sorry. Her biotic appetite now growled in full force, and Kaidan would typically bring twice of whatever he wanted to snack on. Overall, Anna was grateful to the Alenkos for everything they had done for her and her mother.

At the end of her first week back at the Alenkos, they all traveled to the Alliance HQ to watch Hannah Shepard leave for Arcturus. The two Shepards shared a tearful hug and promises to call each other when possible before the Captain departed. The Alenkos did their best to cheer her up on the way back to their house, but Anna barely felt her spirits lift. All she wanted was to join her mother among the stars, running around with the other kids her age. But she would have to stay until she had finished her lessons with Kaidan. That was of no consequence. It couldn't be that hard to learn.


	9. Learning

Chapter 8: Learning

"One more time, Anna. This time focus more. You have to want to keep it still while lifting it." His voice was really starting to grate on her nerves as she stared at the pencil in front of her with distaste.

"Why? It's a pencil," she bit off. She wanted to be done for today, but he seemed convinced that they weren't finished until she lifted a pencil to his standards.

"Because eventually, you may need to lift a person." She rolled her eyes. _Such a stupid thought. Lifting a person._ "Take it as a hypothetical then. Sensitive equipment if people seems so odd to you." She was hot, she wanted a shower, she wanted food, and most of all, she wanted Kaidan to just shut the hell up. Who the hell said he got to control her free will? She had signed up for lessons, not a personal beat-down.

"No. Fuck you. I'll do whatever the hell I want! I can leave the orchard whenever the hell I want. It's my instincts; you add control and it's no longer instinct, it's just a running mental commentary on your every whim and thought. I want to be able to think without watching myself!" Once the words were out of her mouth, they sounded a little harsher than she intended, but she wasn't in the mood to care. She was flaring involuntarily, and it tinted everything blue.

"You do that, and you'll get someone killed!" Kaidan took a step towards her, shaking with anger. She hadn't seen him angry, but it felt good, knowing she could provoke a reaction out of him. She finally found a button. A small voice that sounded suspiciously like her mother told her not to goad him, but she quickly discarded that opinion. This would be _fun_.

"Oh, really? Mr. Control knows what happens when you don't control yourself. Well, Mr. Know-it-all, why don't you tell the class?" She looked around, knowing that he was teaching to a class of one. She mock bowed at the waist, sneering at him. His school had been shut down. Surely the teachers had sucked or something.

"I killed a man because of my lack of control!" There was distance between them, but it felt like he was all but in her face now, flaring his own anger in the form of blue wisps. And for once, she was taken aback. The anger seemed to present a different man, one who was willing to harness this anger. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she simply stood there with her mouth open, leaving only their panting breath to fill the void of sound. "BAaT was shut down because Vyrnus died. He died because I snapped his neck." _Well, I don't know if that rules out bad teachers,_ she wondered and finally relaxed, genuinely curious about what had happened to make Kaidan snap like that.

"What happened?" He relaxed a little after she did, though his tension went from an animal waiting to pounce to a coiled spring inside of him. It was obvious that this lack of control still bothered him, and she took a step closer to him.

"Rahna was one of the girls I knew at BAaT. She was a gentle person and tried to just stay out of Vyrnus's rage. She just wanted a drink of water without a bloody nose. She reached for a glass instead of lifting it. Vyrnus broke her arm for that. I stood up to do something. I was just reacting; I wasn't thinking. He initiated a fight, and before I knew it, he had a knife in my face. I acted without thought and snapped his neck. He died not too long after that." His face had a haunted look, and she moved closer, sealing the distance between them. She reached up, took his chin in her hand, and turned it so he was looking her in the eye. "They could have saved him if they acted sooner, but they didn't. I lost control, and it cost a Turian his life."

"You defended yourself. From everything you've said about Vyrnus, nothing short of putting him in the med-bay for a while would have stopped him. Now at least he can't go for retribution. I'm not saying that what you did was ok. Yes, control should be exercised, but you did a noble thing. You defended someone you care about. You defended yourself." She put a finger to his lips, wanting to finish her thought. "But I see the point you're making. Thank you for telling me." She stepped back again, realizing how close they were to each other. She couldn't read the look on his face either, but he took a step back as well.

"Then will you try again?" His voice was gentler, more of a request than a demand. After a moment, she nodded and turned her attention back to the pencil, paying closer attention to her thoughts. They spent another hour practicing, and by the end, Anna had noticed a distinct improvement in her lifting capabilities.

* * *

Two hours later, Annalisa was glad to be done with her classes for the day. She'd taken a long shower and checked her omni-tool, responding to a few messages from friends, asking how her lessons had gone. By the time she had finished, her stomach was growling at her, so she walked downstairs towards the kitchen, eager to eat dinner.

"Ready to start, Anna?" Molly asked politely as she reached the kitchen. Anna quirked her head to the side in confusion, wet hair falling to one side of her head.

"To start what?" She asked in return. Kaidan chose that moment to come up behind her.

"Cooking lessons," he answered.

"I thought we were done with teaching for the day." Anna glanced from one to the other, trying to figure out why she would need to cook, and how he had learned to cook. Kaidan grinned in response.

"Why stop just because we're home?" She sighed in exasperation as he walked up to the fridge and began pulling out different ingredients. "Besides, what's one of the things biotics are best known for?"

"Glowing blue?" She answered cheekily, flaring as she answered. Kaidan laughed.

"Besides that and reading minds, we're best known for our appetites. The amp burns a lot of calories, so you need to eat a lot to regain what you've lost. So a young biotic needs to know how to cook. You risk going hungry otherwise." Anna approached the kitchen warily. Sometimes her parents had cooked on starships, but she had never paid attention. "Don't worry, we'll start out easy. We'll do pasta tonight." He pulled her further into the room with his biotics, and she had to wonder at his control. "And no it won't bite you. Start with getting that pot," he pointed, "and filling it with water." She did as she was told. "Now set it on the stove, and set the proper burner to high." It took her a moment to figure out which was which, but she did so.

"Now get that pan and put it on this burner." She did so, and Kaidan handed her a package of butter. "Now we're going to heat up some meat. It's already cooked, so we don't have to worry about food poisoning." She shot him a dirty look, and he laughed. "So how much butter do you think you want to reheat some meat?" She cut some butter in the pan. "How much meat are you going to cook?" She looked at the package and cut an imaginary quarter out. "That much for the four of us? We'll have to cook up seconds. Here, think of each bowl." He grabbed a bowl out of a drawer. "Think of how much meat you would want to mix with pasta. Now think about how many of us there are and how many bowls we'll eat. Yes I'm asking you to do math."

"About ten bowls," she answered hesitantly.

"That sounds about right. Now about how much meat would you put in one bowl?" She looked back at the package before indicating her answer, cutting a small area. "I'd say about that much too. Let's you taste the meat without eating just meat. So multiply that area times ten." Her answer looked to be closer to a third of the package.

"About a third of the meat," she replied, more confident.

"Yeah. So then how much butter would you put with that?" She looked back at the butter and cut more off, not answering him verbally. "Good, and put about this much garlic in," he peeled off part of a garlic and threw it into the pan. "Let that heat up real quick." He used the time to rearrange a few items and cut the meat out. "Now we make sure the melted butter has had a chance to get all over the pan." He put his hand over hers, grabbing the pan and moving it around strangely. "Watch the butter move, and that will show you how to move your hand." She tried and then saw the logic to his movements. "See, you finished that on your own." Sure enough, his hand had let her be.

"So now we put the meat on here." He put the meat on the pan, and it sizzled as he grabbed a spatula and cut into the meat, moving and pushing it in intervals. "And now we check on the water." By now the water had small bubbles floating lazily to the surface. "We can probably give that another minute; what we want are lots of small bubbles quickly bubbling up, a simple boil. If you get big bubbles, they can pop and get boiling water on you, which isn't fun. If that happens, just turn the heat down, and the water will calm." She made a mental note of that. "Let's turn our attention back to the meat." He shook the pan and attacked the meat again. "See the color change from earlier, the browning? That's what we want from our meat." He set the pan down and handed her the spatula. "Now I want you to take the pan, bring it over to this plate, and pour the meat onto the plate. Don't worry, Mom and I will be here the whole time. Mom won't let the plate go flying, and I'm here to watch the pan."

"If this goes badly, I told you so," Anna warned.

"And if this goes well, I told you so," he answered. She then picked up the pan and turned easy enough. "Good. Now turn it enough that you can scoop the meat onto the plate with the spatula." After getting some of the meat out, fishing with the spatula became harder. "Turn it more. It's alright." But this time, she turned the pan too much, and some of the meat spilled out. Molly herded it back onto the plate. "It's alright. Use your spatula to flatten the meat mountain." He was right, the meat was a small pile that wouldn't allow her to put more on the plate, so she started moving and squishing the meat. "Okay, now go back to putting the last of it on there." She did as he said, and her face was flushing from more than the heat. She had to be such a bad student. "That's great. Now bring the pan over here and put it in the sink." She all but clunked the pan into the sink, and he clapped her on the back. "Great job. You're doing really well." A hiss then resounded through the kitchen, and Annalisa jumped. They looked in the direction of the noise, and Anna saw the water almost jump out of the pan and onto the hot oventop.

"The water!" She shouted and quickly went over to the stove, turning the heat down. Sure enough, the water receded.

"See, you're getting a handle on things. I told you that you'd do well. Now grab the pasta and gently pour it into the water pot." She did as he said, and they left the pasta to boil. "Now wash this spinach with water." She again carried out his instructions and placed it in a large bowl. "Let's see how the pasta is." He went over and fished two pieces out. "Come here, try one of these. If it's crunchy, let the pasta continue to cook for another minute and try another piece. If you can bite it and it tastes ready to eat, then you know to take it off." She bit into the piece and it seemed alright to her. "It tastes ready, so let's turn off the heat. Now, we're going to carry this over to the other side of the sink, where the colander is. I want you to pour the pot into the colander slowly while Mom pours cold water over it. You can do this, and I'm right here just in case." She grabbed the pot without his help and slowly walked to the sink, careful not to spill any water. But as she turned the pot, a large clump of pasta fell into the colander, and a large splash started. Before she could react, and before the water could hit her, she felt the hum of biotics, and Kaidan pulled up a barrier that encompassed both of them, keeping her dry and unharmed. Kaidan then wrapped his hand around hers, steadying the flow of hot water. "It's alright. It happens. I've seen bigger mistakes on the first try, and no one was hurt. You had the right reaction. By righting the pot again, you stopped more from slopping out and hurting yourself further. It'll come with practice."

"You two go set the table now. I'll mix everything together," Molly said, shooing them from the sink, which Anna gratefully fled from the kitchen with silverware.

"This, I can handle," she stated confidently as she started to set the table. Kaidan chuckled as he brought the glasses.

"I don't see why you think you can't cook. You can. After a few more lessons, the only things you'll need are practice and recipes. And trust me when I say that I've known several people who were far worse at cooking than you." She gave him a wary glance.

"Alright, name one." Kaidan grew pensive at the demand before he spoke.

"Rahna was a terrible cook. Burned most of what she cooked, and the rest of it never tasted right. Most of the time, others would either have to hold her hand the entire time she cooked, or just cook for her." Anna could tell from how Kaidan spoke that he thought highly of this Rahna, enough to defend her against Vyrnus, so she doubted that he would exaggerate. But instead of responding, she instead thought about what he said. She wasn't that bad, and she had picked it up quick enough. Perhaps there was hope for her cooking skills. "Make you feel better?" He asked quietly.

"It puts things in perspective. At least I'm not that bad, and practice should help me get better," she answered, thinking back to her lessons over the past few weeks. She had improved a lot and could keep getting better if she stuck to it.

* * *

The table had gotten suspiciously quiet, and Molly snuck a glance behind her. Anna was quietly looking out the window, and Kaidan seemed lost in his own thoughts as well, though she could guess at what they were. Out of their sight, Molly Alenko smiled. Kaidan had been so heartbroken over Rahna and haunted over Vyrnus that he seemed to almost never venture out. He had tried to keep the facts away from her and Cedric, but they had received an official notice from Conatix, brought by more men in suits, stating what had happened. They also said they wouldn't press charges against Kaidan if everyone kept quiet about anything their son might say about his time at Gagarin Station. They had been wary of the agreement, but it was the only way to see their son arrive on Earth. They had been desperate and signed it, only to wonder months later if the trial would have been so bad. But perhaps teaching a friend was what he needed to understand that these things weren't his fault. In fact, those were the first negative words she'd heard about Rahna. She'd been an angel in Kaidan's eyes, but now she hoped her son would see her as human. Maybe then, he would see that he was worth a second chance.


	10. Leaving

Chapter 9: Leaving

Anna and Kaidan had been standing in the kitchen, inventing another meal from leftovers and vegetables when they heard Molly's omni-tool go off. Neither paid attention to it until they noticed her go quiet. Kaidan volunteered to peak into the living room, where he could see his mother sitting on the couch, speaking quietly with a sad smile. Kaidan reentered the kitchen and shrugged at Anna, guessing they would hear about it at lunch. At the table, Molly's quiet mood persisted, and Anna finally sighed.

"Molly, what is it? You've been quiet since you got that call. Is it Irene?" Molly smiled sadly at Anna and took the girl's hand.

"No. Your mother called." Anna's concerned thoughts turned fearful. "No, dear, it's nothing like that," Molly soothed. "She was wondering how your training was going, and if you would be ready for an Alliance biotic tutor. She wanted to know if I thought you were ready to go back." Anna sat at the table stunned. She knew she would have to return to her mother, hadn't wanted to leave her side after her father's death. But over the past several months, she had come to know the Alenkos like a second family, and judging by Molly and Cedric's reaction, they felt the same way. Anna looked at Kaidan to see him firmly closed off. She could guess that Kaidan was as upset by it all as she was, and Anna picked at her food for a moment before speaking.

"Do you think I'm ready?" She asked.

"I think Kaidan is the best judge of your biotic skills. But I think that if you want to, you should go back," Cedric spoke, and Molly nodded her head in agreement. Anna then turned her attention to Kaidan.

"Well, what do you think?"

* * *

Kaidan sat at the table, quietly thinking. Of course she would have to go back. It was only a matter of time before Anna had to return to her mother and life with the military. She had spent 6 months training every day to catch up. She was technically competent enough to jump into a class and only need a few private lessons to be at the level of her biotic peers. She was a fast learner and would have fit in with the rest of them at Jump Zero. She knew how to cook and her only deficiency was in recipes, and she could look those up on the extranet. She was at the point where she could fit back in on an Alliance vessel.

But was he ready for her to leave? If he was honest with himself, he wasn't. She was the closest friend he had outside of Brain Camp, and they had grown close. Eight months ago, he had resented her for coming here and disturbing his peace, but now he was going to have difficulty readjusting to a life without her.

But did he have a right to keep her here unfairly? Would she miss him as he knew he would miss her? Did she want to leave? Had she dreamed of going back to her life on a ship, filled with people instead of the quiet seaside?

"Kaidan?" Anna's voice cut through his thoughts. He realized that he'd been thinking for longer than he should have.

"You could go back to the Alliance and only need a few lessons. I think you'd do well back there," he answered honestly, the words falling out of his mouth regardless of his own thoughts. He stared down and ate his lunch in silence, unable to look into her face and see her joy at leaving when he couldn't share it. Anna and his parents discussed placing a vid-call to Hannah, arranging her biotic tutor, and how to send the civilian clothes she'd purchased in Vancouver back to her mother's ship before she returned. After lunch, they began to set their plans into motion. For the most part, Kaidan was able to keep out of the way, and after a few hours, went down to the beach to think and to try to stop thinking.

Few people were out on the beach at this time of the year, which suited him just fine. He had a jacket, and watching the sun lower helped take his mind off of things. It wasn't until the sun was halfway through setting that he heard steps next to him. He turned to find Anna.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked bluntly, one arm crossed over the other, her 'I'm going to fix this' look on her face.

"Talk about what?" He asked innocently, not really wanting to ruin her mood.

"That little black raincloud over your head." She answered, and he let out a soft laugh.

"I'd hate to get you wet," he replied as she sat down.

"Then how about what might be a similar topic?" She asked, and he glanced over, raising an eyebrow. She fiddled with her hands for a moment before speaking. "I don't know if I want to go back." She stated, and he almost fell over in shock. "Speechless?"

"A little. I thought you would be jumping for joy at the idea of going back to your friends," he admitted.

"And I do. I want to go back. I want to be with Mom. I want to become a stronger biotic." As she shifted, he saw her discomfort. "But I want to stay here. You and your parents," she trailed off with an almost pained look on her face. Kaidan took one of her hands, and she squeezed his. "I've never laid roots down before. Alliance brats know that friends are temporary. You get a little attached to the young ones, but you know that the ones your age are likely to change ships or age into the older programs. Biotic kids will go away for a while for training. So I never made any friendships like this. I never bonded with anyone like this. But you and your parents helped me through Dad and the surgery. And now I don't know if I want to leave," she whispered. Kaidan felt his heart constrict at his friend's pain and relax in the knowledge that he wasn't the only one thinking this, so he wasn't sure what to say aside from squeezing her hand again, stronger this time.

"I feel the same way if it makes you feel better. After BAaT, I didn't have many friends. You are my closest friend outside of it. At first I didn't want any visitors. When you first arrived, I told myself that you'd be gone soon and then I'd be alone again. And I looked forward to it," he confessed. "Now I'm sad to see you go too. But it's your decision. My parents wouldn't mind if you stayed, you know that." Anna smiled softly, nodding her head. "And I think your mother would understand if you wanted to stay on Earth."

"I know. That's what makes it so tempting to stay. But you and I saw what happened to Dad." She shook her head, and he could feel her biotics buzz. "I can't let that happen to anyone else. If I can step between someone else and that, I'll do it. So I have to go back to the Alliance." The conviction in her voice left them no choice: she would leave, and she shook her head. "But I am going to miss you." She leaned against his arm and squeezed his hand.

"Then we'll stay in contact. We'll message each other and vid-chat. We'll find some way to keep in contact." He liked the idea more and more as he said it, and he felt her nod against his arm. "So how long until you head back out?"

"A week. It'll take that long to get the shuttle and Mom's ship to work out a connecting point." They were silent for a minute before she spoke again. "What will you do now?" He sighed and leaned back a little. He'd given the topic some thought in the past, but he couldn't seem to settle on a path that fit him.

"I'm not sure. I'll try to get a job, but I'm not sure what my long-term plan is. I'm not sure if a university is my thing. Not to mention that woman's comment about Cerberus wanting me." The memory floated over both of them ominously before Anna shook it off.

"Well we both know what your answer will be. You could always join the Alliance instead."

"I could," he answered thoughtfully. "But I want more time to think about it. I might try going to a university first." They let the conversation thread go, watching the sunset. The future would come soon enough, and they still had a week to enjoy each other's company.


	11. This Christmas

Chapter 10: This Christmas

He had never been so nervous about a gift. He had given it so much thought, and now here he was: ready to pick it out. _Crap,_ he thought as he saw the sheer selection of jewelry to pick from. _I think I should have consulted someone like Mom before going to the store._ He tentatively approached a section of pendants when a saleswoman came from another counter.

"Hi. Do you need any help browsing our selection?" Her smile was genuine, and he almost sagged against the counter in relief.

"Yes. I'm- uh-" _It sounds so stupid, trying to find something for such a complex woman._

"Is this for a relative or someone special?" He gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Someone special," he responded.

"Alright. Is she just a friend, or could she be more than a friend? Tell me about her." She leaned against the counter, quietly waiting for him to speak.

"I'm –uh– not sure. She's definitely a very good friend. She's practical, but she's got a mischievous streak in her. She's something else. I'm not looking for anything dainty. I want it to be simple, but make a statement." _Oh, who am I kidding? This is a stupid idea. She'll think you want a relationship, and that's the last thing she needs right now: another emotional rollercoaster._ He looked up and saw the saleswoman smiling at him.

"Well, a pendant won't do at all. That's too ostentatious. She doesn't seem the type to wear a bracelet, is she?" He shook his head to confirm her thoughts. "Well then, that leaves us with earrings and necklaces." He furrowed his brow. He hadn't thought of that. She led him over to a different stand. She then slipped behind the counter and brought out a few different earrings. He could actually picture her wearing them, though. But one pair in particular caught his eyes. They were a simple pair of pearl earrings. But before he could make a decision, the saleswoman began to bring out a few different necklaces. "Is she from around here?"

"No. She's a spacer. Her mom is Alliance."

"Hmm. Well, what about an Earth-centric shape? We have lovely Canadian leaves." He wrinkled his nose. There was no way Anna would go for that. "Ok, well." The woman thought for a moment. "I do have something." She spoke hesitantly, "It may be a little too much for her tastes, but it's worth a try." She reached behind the counter again. "What about this?"

She pulled out a simple chain, and a snowflake hung from it. There were a few stones set at the ends of each snowflake-branch as well as the middle. It was nothing terribly expensive, or so he hoped. It didn't call too much attention to itself, but it was still beautiful. A smile crept across his face.

"It's just right for her. How much is it?" _Please don't let it be too expensive._ The saleswoman smiled in response.

"Normally it's about a hundred credits." He almost winced. "But we're running a sale. And I can tack on another discount." He relaxed and gave a relieved grin.

"Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help." He handed her the credit chit gladly. She handed him the chit and the necklace, gift-wrapped, a few minutes later. He was grinning from one ear to the other. _This may just be the best Christmas yet._

"You know, you probably could have charged him double." A second clerk walked up once he was out of hearing range.

"Yah, but we both remember being young and in love. And boy is he in it. Plus, how could you resist that face? He's gorgeous."

"Very true. And that ass." They both continue to watch him walk away. "I suppose it is worth it."

AN: I needed a 'dat ass' comment in there. It was needed. I'm not sorry about it. At all.


	12. Long Distance Reception

Chapter 11: Long Distance Reception

It was her first Christmas without Dad, and even though the crew had gone all out with decorations, she viewed it all with sadness in her heart. She seemed to view the world with gray-tinted glasses, her rose-tinted ones shattered on Earth. But she wasn't the only kid on the ship, so she didn't ask to take them down. It was now Christmas Eve, and the ship was docked. Parents were whispering that Santa had taken off. It took all her will to not cry.

* * *

_She was 8, anxiously waiting for Santa. It was already 00:32, and she didn't know how much longer she could stay awake. Her eyes were beginning to drift closed, when the door whooshed open._

_That was when she saw him: red with white lining from head to toe, a big belly, and a large pack on his back. She watched him ease in with baited breath, but when he turned to her direction, he straightened._

"_Good little girls are supposed to be asleep by now," a deep voice gently chided._

"_I had to see if you were real. Jimmy said you weren't real," she defended._

"_Jonathan Maxwell. Age 12. He stopped believing because I gave him a stuffed hanar when he wanted a drell warrior two years ago." She starred in wonder as he rattled off facts _she_ didn't even know. "I have his present right here." He reached into the sack and pulled out a small bag of coal. Her mouth was a wide 'O'. "And if you'll excuse me, I have to set down your presents." He reached into his sack again and began pulling out presents wrapped in bright, shiny red paper with vivid green bows. "I'll take that off your hands." He put the coal back in his bag before kneeling down to her level. "I am as real as the spirit of Christmas. I will always be here as long as there are children willing to believe in me." She nodded her head silently in understanding. "Now go to bed. You can open your gifts tomorrow morning. Your mother will enjoy watching you open them. It is my present to her." Her eyes opened in astonishment as she processed what he said. She then nodded, suddenly very sleepy. She was about to curl back up on the couch when Santa gently shook her back awake. "I would like you to sleep in your room. I have one last present to deliver here, but the shape will give it away." Her curiosity was piqued, but before she could plot, he added. "I cannot deliver it if I see you awake. Now go."_

"_Yes, sir. And merry Christmas."_

"_Merry Christmas indeed." Santa waited until she had walked into her room before he left. She could hear the door open from her room. Tired, she stumbled to bed. When she opened her eyes, her clock told her that morning had already come: 08:02. Curious to see what else Santa had left, she pounded on the wall that separated her room from her mother's room. "Mom! Wake up! It's Christmas." She waited a few seconds before hearing two pounds from her mother. She then pulled on a robe and ran into the living room to find-_

_She stood stock-still in the entryway. Her father was sitting on the couch, a large green bow on his shoulder. He had obviously fallen asleep on the couch, one hand propping his head up. _

"_Anna, why are you-" Her mother's words fell silent as she saw the same present. "Go wake your father. Gently though." She didn't have to be told twice, running to her father and hugging him awake._

"_Santa gave me a ride here. He even managed to convince my captain to give me Christmas with you. I can't stay for long, but I have today." He opened one arm to his wife, keeping the other one firmly wrapped around his daughter._

"_You saw Santa too?" She asked in excitement._

"_Yes. He had me wait outside while he made sure the coast was clear. He didn't want to spoil the surprise."_

"_Best Christmas present," she whispered into his shoulder._

"_I love you too, Lisa."_

* * *

It wasn't until last year that he told her it had been him the whole time. Ships with kids tended to do the Santa thing as long as the parents agreed to it. It was an unspoken tradition on Alliance vessels. Kennan had been planning this out for a month and had convinced the other parents to let him play Santa, surprising the children aboard and his wife.

Anna walked up to the parents talking and dropped her voice to a whisper.

"Do you have someone for the role of Santa?" The dad nodded yes. She nodded in return and turned to walk away.

"The first Christmas without them is toughest. It gets easier as time goes on. But seeing the young ones believe helps." She turned back, and the dad continued. "I lost my wife three years ago. I understand." She nodded again, her throat tied up too tightly for her to say her thanks, but he seemed to understand anyways. She walked away from them, but ran back to her room before the tears could fall.

A few hours later, she was wandering the ship again, trying to think up a new place to practice her biotics when one of the crewmen came up to her.

"Hey, we just got a bunch of packages, and there's one for you." He handed her a small package. She took it and was about to open it, when a small icon popped up.

'Don't open until Christmas' it said. _Oh, well then._ '-Kaidan' the second line read. A grin came up on her face. _He didn't need to send a present._ Her mom had sent a present with both of their names on it, but now she felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't gotten him anything special.

"Kaidan," she whispered, shaking her head. She then turned around and went to drop the present off. However, she couldn't help trying to sneak a peek. She gently began to untie the bow when she was suddenly shocked, almost dropping the box in the process.

'I mean it! I wired this thing to give a small electrical shock if you tried to open it before Christmas. No peeking! You'll spoil the surprise. –Kaidan' She laughed out loud, the first true laugh since she'd stepped aboard the ship. This would definitely be the highlight of her Christmas. She checked the clock on her omni-tool. 20:21. She almost groaned as she placed the gift under the miniature tree in her mother's cabin.

* * *

The next morning dragged its feet, but finally came. She eagerly tore through every wrapped present, but she kept her final present near her feet. When the rest of her gifts had been opened, examined, and the giver thanked, she turned to the smallest gift of all. She held it up and gingerly pulled at the ribbon, hoping that she wouldn't receive a second shock. She shouldn't, but she wanted to make sure. As she tugged on the ribbon, another message popped up.

'Yes, you can open it now. Merry Christmas, Annalisa.' She chuckled and opened the gift, carefully keeping the bow intact. She and her mother had an old tradition of preserving bows.

"It isn't big enough to put on your head, but how about your wrist?" Her mother took her wrist and deftly slid it on. "There we go." She then rearranged the bow on her head. Anna then turned her attention to the wrapping paper, ripping it to shreds. There was a small device attached to the paper. _That must be the sensor. I'll have to examine it later._ She then opened the box, and her jaw dropped. Sitting inside was a beautiful necklace. It was in the shape of a snowflake, accented with clear crystals.

"Mom," she motioned her mother over, who gasped when she saw the gift, but pulled out a piece of paper attached to the top of the box, handing it to her daughter.

'It's snowing in Vancouver, and I know you said that you had never seen snow before. While I can't send real snow, I thought I would send you this. Each snowflake on Earth is unique, like you. Merry Christmas – Kaidan' She was touched, speechless even. Her parents had given her wonderful gifts before, but somehow this gift meant more.

"You should go call him and thank him. He'll be up by now. And wear this when you thank him." She took the necklace out of the box and put it on her daughter. She then left the room, letting Anna pull up Kaidan on her omni-tool in privacy. He quickly answered.

"Good morning and merry Christmas," he greeted. He smiled at her.

"Good morning and merry Christmas to you too," she returned. He was still grinning at her. "Is something up?" She asked.

"You've – um –" he scratched the back of his neck. "You've got a big bow on your head." She blushed deeply in embarrassment before pulling the bow off her head.

"Why didn't mom tell me I still-" she quietly muttered before turning her attention back to Kaidan. "Sorry, we always do that on Christmas. Wear any bows, that is. She forgot to tell me I was still wearing one on my head." She held up her wrist in illustration, showing him the bow on her wrist. He finally couldn't seem to hold back his laughter anymore, letting a chuckle bubble out of him.

"That's pretty cute actually," he conceded. Her jaw dropped in horror.

"_Cute?!_ Oh, I can't have that. My reputation will be ruined on the ship. But regardless, I wanted to thank you for my gift." She took a step back from the omni-tool to let him see her better. His smile softened in response.

"You look good. Uh – I mean – It looks good. On you. Not that you don't look nice, you do." Now it was her turn to begin laughing as he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck again.

"I think we're even now." She was hushing her laugh for his sake. "So how's your Christmas going?" She changed the subject.

"It's going well. Although I'll have to hang up soon. We're going over to an aunt's house later, and I'm still in my pajamas." He ran a hand through his hair. "Mom won't let me out of the house like this, family or not." She chuckled.

"I'll let you go then."

"Alright, but I might send you a message. It can get pretty boring, and I may need an excuse to step out for a while." She grinned at him.

"Now that I can do. You'll have to show me how the snow looks too." He straightened, his face brightening.

"I can show you how it looks in the morning too. Here," he picked up the omni-tool, moving it to a window. She saw the orchards outside his home, but magically transformed by the snow. After a minute, he turned the camera back to him. "Did you like the view?"

"It's beautiful. But I don't remember seeing this exact view. Where are you?" She was curious and just had to know. He gave a low chuckle in response.

"I'm in my room right now." She blushed a little. _Ah._ He straightened as they heard his mother's familiar tone. "And that's my cue to get ready. I'll have to let you go." She felt regret tugging at her, but she nodded her head in understanding.

"Alright. Let me know if I need to bail you out."

"Will do." And with that he signed off. She waited a moment before looking at her necklace again.

* * *

Kaidan sat on his bed, happy beyond imagining. He heard a knock on his door and stood to answer his mother's knocks.

"Did you hear me dear? We need to get ready to head over to your Aunt Irene's house."

"Yes, Mom. I'm going to change. Do you need something before I do that?"

"No, but I was wondering how your chat with Annalisa went." He grinned as he thought about it.

"Really well. She likes my gift." His mother smiled back at him.

"Good. I'm glad. Well, I'll let you get ready." She turned her back and left.

He closed the door and let a goofy grin spread across his face. _She really likes it. I can tell by her eyes. They were sparkling the whole time._ The image of her wearing that bow on her head came back to his mind. Her wearing that bow and his necklace. Her in that shirt that dipped just low enough to show skin, but not low enough to show cleavage. _Stop,_ he commanded himself. _Why am I thinking of her like that?_ He shook his head. _Ridiculous. Now stop it. I doubt she sees you as more than a friend. Her joy was about the necklace, not about you._ He decided to make that shower a cold one. His parents would wonder what took him if he dallied.


	13. Christmas Night

Chapter 12: Christmas Night

Anna knew that the time leading up to Christmas would be bad, but her excitement over Kaidan's gift had helped to alleviate her gloom. But now that her distraction was gone, her heartache began to set back in. She had never enjoyed spending Christmas away from either of her parents, but there had always been the opportunity to see them, even if it was in a vid-chat for an hour. Now there was no way to see her father again, and it made Anna long for her father even more.

Her mother seemed to think that staying on the ship where there were plenty of memories of her father wasn't enough. She also had to spend time on Arcturus, even though her mother gave every other crew member the choice to leave the ship. A few of Anna's older friends had asked if she wanted to join them, but Anna turned them down. There was no reason for her to spoil anyone's good mood on Christmas Day.

So now she was stuck in one of the main thoroughfares for Arcturus Station, walking towards a small park. Some of the 'tough guys' liked to say that it was only for the civilian contractors, but Anna had always thought that it was a nice place to go that wasn't the monotonous grey they painted the rest of the station. Anna and her parents frequently went there to meet, and for the holiday season, the staff would light all the trees in the park. They were a magical part of her youth, but they were also a strong tie with her father. The lights on the trees always seemed to sparkle in her memories, but Anna knew that these lights were sparkling from unshed tears, though she wasn't sure what emotion it was. Anna started when her mother approached, attempting to erase her tears.

"Anna –" Hannah started, but footsteps interrupted them. "Captain Hackett, Lieutenant Commander Anderson," she greeted, and Anna instantly straightened.

"Hannah, it's good to see you again," Captain Hackett responded. Her mother smiled in response.

"I could say the same thing. How has your ship been doing?" Hannah responded.

"Everything has been going well. We've had to keep an eye on a few Batarian ships. We think they may be slaver ships, but we aren't certain. Still, better to be safe than sorry. So we're setting up some more patrols in the region." While Annalisa knew that her father had great respect for his now-former Captain, his words grated on Anna's nerves. The Captain then turned his attention to Anna. "Hello again, Annalisa. I hope you've been well."

"I have, sir," she responded, trying her hardest to fix a smile on her face. Her mother would be upset if she didn't.

"How has your biotic training been going?" Anderson asked her. Everyone seemed to act as though nothing had happened. Why was it that no one could seem to understand that things were not okay? She was standing here alone when her father should be here. He would joke about how his boss was too tough and the officers never knew what they were doing. He would then say that it was okay because all the people they went up against were dumber or their plans were so stupid, they were brilliant. But he wasn't there, so something was terribly wrong.

"Anna, Commander Anderson asked you a question." Her mother prompted. Anna opened her mouth, but no sound seemed to want to come out. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get angry or get sad, and her voice wasn't sure either. A ping from her omni-tool saved her from having to look at anyone there.

"That's Kaidan. I need to take this call." She quickly turned, walking off.

"Lisa –" Hannah called after her, placing a hand on her Anna's shoulder. The reminder of her father's special nickname was too much. Anna harshly broke out of her mother's grasp and ran, tears running down her face. She wanted to be anywhere but here, feel anything but this gaping pain, do anything but face her world. She ran, not paying attention to where she was, turning corners at random. Part of her mind registered that she was flaring, which was why nobody had run into her. They had instead turned into blurs of color. But finally, the blurs became less frequent, and eventually became nonexistent. She was out of breath, her legs were burning, and she didn't have the will to run any further. So she collapsed against a wall, exhausted and crying. After allowing herself a few sobs, she attempted to rearrange her appearance, roughly brushing away the tear tracks on her face.

"Ca – Call Kaidan," she gasped. _Alright, now try to be neutral. Don't let him know that you're hurting. He doesn't want to hear about gushy mushy feelings. That's dumb. Who wants to talk to some depressing girl? Not him. So suck it up. Mom can do it; so can you._ Kaidan picked up the call, but his smile quickly turned into a frown. _My eyes are probably red._

"Hey," His tone was gentle, concerned. "What's wrong?" Memories of what had just transpired flashed back, and the swell of emotions overwhelmed her as she burst out crying again. Between sobs, she told him what had happened, though she felt like she was crossing a glass-covered floor. The whole time, he said nothing, but listened patiently.

"I wish we weren't separated. I wish I could do more than just offer words across light-years of space. But right now, my words will have to do, so please listen to them." She looked up, right into his eyes. He had sat down outside his aunt's house, mirroring her position. "Your mother is trying to help both of you move on. She probably thought the place would bring back good memories. Even if she didn't, you would have had to pass through eventually. Maybe she was just trying to help you get used to seeing these places without your father. Either way, I doubt that you're the only one who's hurting."

"Then why doesn't she cry? Why can't I stop crying?" Tears were still streaming down her face, and she roughly dried her face with one hand.

"Because you're mourning. Sadness is a part of it. Crying is a natural reaction. There's a reason that others cried at the funeral. It's because they were upset too. They were hurting too." He sighed and held up his hand, silently asking for a moment before he continued. "And about your mother? I doubt that she isn't hurting. Your mother is simply a tough woman. She has to be. She has to command an entire ship. She has to determine what everyone should be doing, where they're going, and keep everyone in line while maintaining her cool. If she fell apart on the bridge every five minutes, nobody would take her seriously. So she has to look cool." His words made sense to her. "But that doesn't mean she's ok. It doesn't mean she's done mourning." She let out a long sigh. _Looks like you really screwed up, Anna._

"I guess I just look like a stupidly hot mess," she dried one final tear as she looked at the ceiling.

"No. You sound like someone who's trying to deal with a lot. Sometimes it helps to have an outside opinion." _He really is too good to me,_ she thought to herself as a small smile crossed her face.

"Well, it helps when you have this amazingly smart friend to help." He chuckled.

"Yeah, having friends helps. And I know you'd tell me the same thing if our roles were reversed," he affirmed. "You feel better now?"

"Better. Not totally better, but better than earlier. I don't know how I'm going to do out there though." She sighed as she evaluated herself, and she was honest.

"That's good. Why don't you go back and say you're sorry?" She nodded her head, but froze when she looked up. She didn't recognize her surroundings. She had been to the station several times and knew her way around, but didn't recognize anything around her.

"I can't," she whispered softly.

"Why not? What's wrong?"

"I'm lost," she admitted.

"Then just ask someone for directions," he suggested.

"There's no one here, Kaidan," she spoke, looking around. "I've been to most of the station, but I've never been here. I think I may have found a maintenance hall." She was trying to keep the fear out of her voice, but she had a feeling that she was losing that battle. He sat still, quiet for a minute. But the expression on his face told her that he was deep in thought.

"Give me a minute. I need to hang up with you, but I won't be long." After a deep breath, Anna nodded, determined not to fall apart while Kaidan was gone. After her nod, Kaidan hung up, and the silence he left behind seemed to ring. Trying to pass the time, Anna flared experimentally, trying to perfect her singularity by tossing a shoe in and watching the shoe react. Kaidan's return call startled her and the singularity faded out of existence. "Ok, I've got a plan. Show me where you are. I have pictures of what the maintenance halls look like." Anna obliged and used her omni-tool to show him where she was. "Ok, this is the maintenance hall. Let me send a message real quick."

"Who are you talking to?" She asked.

"Captain Hackett. He, Anderson, and your mother are trying to find where you are." He slid her video over to the side and turned his attention elsewhere. "What I'm going to do is use your omni-tool data and theirs to try to see how far you are from them. I'm also going to use a map that Hackett gave me to try to guess what part of the maintenance you're in. Hopefully you aren't too far in, and we can find you soon." He looked at his data streams, and Anna had never felt so grateful for his skills. While there were occasional lapses of silence, Kaidan kept up a conversation with Anna for most of the search, which Anna was grateful for. But in one of their pauses, Anna hushed Kaidan.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered, trying to listen for the noise again.

"I don't hear anything," Kaidan said. But then Anna heard it again. It was a faint noise, but it was stronger than last time. Someone was calling her name.

"I can hear them!" She scrambled up from her place and started to run in the direction of the voices. The echoes became louder and she could hear the female voice become distinct.

"Anna! Where are you?!" Annalisa had never been so glad to hear her mother's voice. But it wasn't until later that Anna realized the fear in her mother's voice.

"Over here!" Anna shouted as she ran towards her mother's voice. Just then, she turned a corner, and they finally caught sight of each other. Both women sprinted towards each other. Vaguely, Anna heard Kaidan tell the others that Anna had been found before he ended his connection to her omni-tool. Hannah caught her daughter in an embrace, and Anna realized that her mother was shaking.

"I was so scared. Please, Anna. Please don't ever do that to me again." Anna's emotions got the better of her, and she started crying again.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to be brave, and I knew I couldn't be. Not like you." Her mother's grip tightened.

"No. No, you are far more like me than you realize. But please don't shut your emotions out. And _never_ mistake that for bravery. That will only hurt you in the long run."

"Then why don't you cry?"

"Some days, your tears are enough for me. Some days it hurts so badly, I can't even cry. Some days, I wait until you're fast asleep. And then I cry." But as her mother spoke, Anna felt tears course down her temple. It was in that moment that she realized what courage was. It wasn't a lack of fear, but it was facing something in spite of being afraid. She tightened her grip on her mother. Both women heard two pairs of boots join them, but neither cared.

"Glad to see you two together again," Anderson commented. "And you have a very smart friend. I hope he's considered a job in the Alliance. We could use some good engineers." Anna gave a chuckle.

"Thank you both for helping. I don't know what I would have done without all of you, Kaidan included." She dried her tears once more, and Hackett made an excuse for him and Anderson to leave the pair alone, wishing them a happy new year as they left. For several minutes, Anna and her mother stayed as they were, still holding each other before Anna spoke. "I'm so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn't."

"It's ok, sweetheart. Do you want to go back to the ship? Where do you want to go?" Anna thought for a minute.

"Shady's Sundaes?" They both cried a few tears. Shady's had been a hang-out spot for the family whenever they stopped at Arcturus to trade Anna between them. Her mother nodded.

"If you want to. You want your usual?" Anna nodded and they walked together towards the shop.


	14. Correspondence

Chapter 13: Correspondence

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: Kaidan Alenko

Hey.

So, I heard that you got into the Alliance.

I can see that you've decided where your path lies. It's good to know where you want to go.

I wanted to extend my well wishes to you.

I hear training is tough, so I won't expect an answer from you for a while.

I hope things don't get too difficult.

I know you'll be passionate about this. Just don't forget to give yourself time to breathe.

Best of luck! -Kaidan

End of log. User is offline. Respond?

* * *

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: Annalisa Shepard

Well, apparently it's my turn to congratulate you

It's about time you know. Thought you weren't going to join me

Boot camp'll kick your ass

Seriously, be prepared

But if I know you, you'll make it out. You're pretty good

I have faith. If I made it through, there's hope for you

Knowing you, you'll respond within a week

So I'll patiently wait

Ahahahaha

I just had a thought

Now there's a chance of running into you on the job!

Guess you'll have to watch your back now ;)

'Til then!

End of log. User is offline. Respond?

* * *

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: Kaidan Alenko

Hey Anna,

Thanks for the congratulation.

As it turns out, you weren't exaggerating about boot camp.

Oh, about boot camp. Thanks for the heads-up about Samson.

My feet and fingers are still numb. What the hell is his problem?

On a different note, congratulations on making sentinel.

You seem to be coming into your biotics. I'm glad for you.

It's nice to be around other biotics, isn't it?

Once I get past boot camp, I may join that. It seems like a good fit for me.

And wouldn't it be funny if we had to serve on the same ship?

It isn't likely. There's still too few of us in the Alliance. But it is possible.

I'm not sure if the captain could handle your shenanigans.

Then again, I may be the only one who can talk you out of them.

I guess I'll see you around. –Kaidan

End of log. User is offline. Respond?

* * *

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: #%&%*$

Please hold.

Sender unknown.

Delete this as soon as you read it

You didn't hear anything from me. This identity is protected, but it won't last forever

Samson is a sucker for references from the 1920's

Make a reference to the Rat Pack and you'll get him to laugh

But don't get sloppy!

If you only do surface research, he'll catch you

But if you do it just right, you're golden

Oh

One more thing

DON'T GET DRUNK THIS FRIDAY!

Just don't

You'll regret it if you do

-A Guardian Angel

End of log. User is not connected to the network. Reply as a draft?

* * *

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: Annalisa Shepard

Apparently there's a new kid on the block

I see you didn't waste time recognizing your talents

Congrats on making sentinel!

Apparently you were one of the few who could rival my scores

Not surprised that you beat my biotic score

But supposedly there's a joint tie for the tech exam

It'll be nice to see who can win a hacking contest now

Hope I see your name on more records soon

End of log. User is offline. Respond?

* * *

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: Kaidan Alenko

Speaking of a new kid, it sounds like your training has been going well too.

I know that they send out mailers with the names of the latest N's.

The grapevine (our moms) have been chatting about how the tests are next week.

I expect to see your name under N7 when the next mailer comes out.

I know you won't disappoint anyone here. You're incredibly talented, and we all know it.

So go show them you are.

Good luck –Kaidan

End of log. User is offline. Respond?

* * *

Chat log: New Offline Messages!

Sender: Annalisa Shepard

HELL YES!

It's about time we got some leave

My ship is heading for Elysium

Everyone is talking about leave

There are already some plans for some pretty BAMF parties

Don't you wish you were here?

You could be with me, celebrating 'humanity's reach deeper into the galaxy'

or whatever excuse the brass has drummed up to give us a break

If you aren't here by 23:00, I'll drink a lager for you

But you better get your ass over here

End of log. User is online! Reply with text or initiate vid chat?


	15. Elysium

Chapter 14: Elysium

She was getting sloppy, and she knew it. She could only hold out so much longer before one of those slavers got her. But it wouldn't be while she still had fight in her. She couldn't use her biotics anymore. If she did, she would pass out. Suddenly, she saw an explosion take out a small group of Batarians, while the rest turned their fire to the incoming group.

After a few more explosions and some well placed biotics, the group moved closer. And as warm caramel eyes met green eyes, she realized that the leader who had just saved her life was none other than Kaidan Alenko. He quickly took off his helmet, shouting at the men to hold the perimeter, and approached her.

"Lieutenant Annalisa Shepard. How's the situation?" He saluted and then addressed her, all business. She attempted to get up, but stumbled back down. He knelt beside her as she gave her best salute back. _Apparently that leg is kicking my ass,_ she vaguely thought.

"A hell of a lot better, now that you're here. There's a group of civilians holed up here." She jerked her thumb back at the school. "It's mostly children, families, and teachers. Your presence has to mean that the teacher was able to get the comm tower working." Kaidan nodded in response.

"Who else is with you and how long have they been here?" He pulled out an energy bar and canteen, handing them to her. She took a greedy gulp before tearing the energy bar open.

"Just me now. I have no clue how long we've been here. There were a few more when we were trying to get more civilians in here. Lost three to the Batarians and I've been on my own since then." She wouldn't, couldn't process the loss of good men and fellow crewmembers until they were out of danger.

"How long has your leg been broken?" Kaidan's question was quieter as he ran his omni-tool over her.

"Before I lost them." She gave the short reply back.

"I'll need to set it. You're lucky that I'm trained for this stuff," he gently chided.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. You're once again pulling my ass out of the fire. I just thinned out the crowd for you. Let you look like the big hero so the ladies pay attention to you." She winced as he injected something into her leg, but it quickly went numb.

"Let's face it: you enjoy me coming to your rescue. I'm going to put my greave on your leg. It'll help hold it in place after I set it. You should be able to put minor pressure on it, but don't let the pain killers lull you into using it." She gasped as he set the bone. She didn't feel any pain, but her body still registered it as a shock. She started to see double and she felt very light-headed all of a sudden.

"Hey," Kaidan snapped his fingers to get her attention. "How long have you gone without sleep anyways?"

"Umm," She couldn't think of any witty responses, so she simply muttered. "However long I've been here, plus the flight time getting us here."

"Long enough to start messing with your head." His look was of genuine concern. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She attempted to separate the two hands from each other unsuccessfully. It didn't help that they were both moving.

"Stop moving 'em and I can tell yuh." She shook her head to clear the slur out of her speech.

"We have to get you and the civilians out of here. There's a large shelter where we've got civilians holed up. I can get you to my ship to recover. Watson! Kranz!" The two men fell out of battle to head over as he helped Anna stand. "Kranz, I need you to help escort the civilians out of here. Is the area secure enough?"

"Yes, sir. I'll get on it immediately." Kranz replied as he turned to enter the school.

"Wait. I need to be the one. I told them to shoot anyone else who came through." Kaidan sighed and shook his head. "I saw Human slavers here. I didn't want one to take advantage of them."

"You think of everything, don't you?" He asked as he helped her into the school.

"One of us has to be the brains of the operation." She retorted before calling out, "Mr. Westfall? It's Lieutenant Shepard. I'm coming back with reinforcements. They're going to escort you to a safe area." They entered what had to be a gymnasium, and saw several men holding guns, but at the sight of Anna, they all lowered their weapons and began to herd everyone out. As Mr. Westfall passed her, she reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Thank you, sir. We wouldn't have this backup if you didn't fix the comms." The man merely grunted in return and went back to helping the others.

"And now I need your help, Watson," Kaidan turned to the man in question, who was more like a young kid. He then helped Anna into his and Watson's joint hold. "I need you to get Lieutenant Shepard back to the ship. She's got a broken leg and is need of medical treatment." He helped the two get out of the school before breaking his hold on Anna, grabbing his gun instead. "I'm going to help finish clearing the city. Take good care of her. I made a promise to her dad, and he'll kick my ass if she gets hurt on my watch." She stuck her tongue out at him in defiance. In response, one side of his mouth quirked up in a secret grin. Watson then began to move her along.

"Well well, Lieutenant. You and Alenko must have an interesting history." The young ensign grinned at her.

"What makes you say that?" She inquired.

"Because I've never seen anyone crack a joke at him, much less seen him crack a joke at anyone, much less smile." She laughed in response.

"Oh I would ruin his reputation if I told you what I knew." The pain meds really must be getting to her if she was grinning this stupidly.

"How about we get you another dose of those meds and a few beers." She was now laughing out right.

"He'll warp my ass if I say anything," she answered as she put a little too much weight on her leg, wincing.

"Easy now. You need to rest?" He slowed down and the world began to spin.

"Not unless you wanna carry me the rest of the way. Come on, before the ground starts spinning again." He nodded in response and began moving faster again. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was silent, and she focused on moving. It wasn't until she was hopping into the medbay that she realized she was even on a ship.

"Easy now, Lieutenant. On the bed. Let's get you fixed up." A male voice and hands began to push her onto a table, reading her title from her dog tags before passing an omni-tool over her.

"Mind telling me whose greave that is and who set your leg that well? I'd like to compliment the worker," the doctor asked as he plied the greave off her.

"Kaidan Alenko," she muttered in response as the room began to spin around her.

"Hmm. Are you dizzy?"

"Oh yeah."

"I'm going to give you a sedative and more painkillers while I fix your leg with better supplies." The doctor pulled out a bottle and needle before she could respond.

"I'll be sure to get the beer when you wake up," the ensign added. She chuckled in response.

"That is not wise, Ensign Watson. Alcohol in combination with painkillers is not beneficial for the patient's health." The doctor scolded as he injected the next round of painkillers.

"Sorry." Watson replied to the doctor, before turning to Anna and mouthing "I'll sneak some in here." She tried her hardest to keep a straight face as he slipped out. She barely felt the second prick for the sedative, and once the doctor set an IV in her, he asked her to count backwards from ten. She didn't make it to eight.

* * *

Everything was dark, and her leg was still throbbing. It didn't help that she was also sore all over. She gave a soft groan as she tried to sit up.

"Easy there, Anna. You don't want to sit up too fast. The sedative may still be affecting you." A firm hand held her shoulder while another held a cup of water, which she greedily drank from.

"So, you're still trying to see if you can come up with another way to rescue me? Earn another mark in your hero book? Or is it my good looks?" They grinned at each other.

"Actually, none of the above. I'm helping the doc keep an eye on all the patients. You weren't the only one out there needing help." His hand gently pushed her back onto the bed, despite her head-shake. "You're staying down until doc says you're good to go. And you may not want to go."

"Oh really? We already know that I'm immune to your charm, so why would I want to stick around?"

"Because the people out there are already touting you as a hero. You helped organize a small battalion into defendable positions with almost no prep and limited access to guns and ammo. Anyone who got in contact with the people you helped spread the tactic. You saved a good part of this town. Rear Admiral Hackett wants to speak with you soon." She groaned in response as she thought about having to deal with cameras and dignitaries. She heard Kaidan's chuckle, low and private. "But for now, the doc wants to at least let you recover before setting you lose."

"I don't see how anyone would think I did something special. I didn't." Her voice was quiet, attempting to keep anyone from hearing her thoughts. "I saw good men die in the streets. I saw civilians cut down." She felt a warm hand squeeze her shoulder.

"You did. You heard what I said. It's worth merit. And I know you; you did the best you could. So don't doubt yourself. You didn't shoot them down. The slavers did." His words were soothing, comforting, and level-headed enough for her to begin to believe them. "Now get some rest. Everyone will want to talk to you soon enough." He removed his hand as he turned to walk away.

"Won't you tell me about the ship you're serving on? We never get to swap much more than the basics. Tell me about the people here." He paused a moment.

"Tell you what. They should be serving lunch here pretty soon. When they bring lunch, I'll tell you stories while we eat. Deal?" He offered his hand to her.

"Deal," she shook before settling back down. She knew he wouldn't let her do anything else, so she simply closed her eyes and listened to him walk around, occasionally murmuring words to other patients.

* * *

Kaidan glanced over a few minutes later. She was sound asleep. _Probably still exhausted,_ he thought to himself. _But she's a fighter._ He checked his omni-tool. It was still an hour before lunch, and now he had nothing to do. So he went over to Annalisa's bedside and allowed himself an unnecessary extra check. She was doing well and would make a full recovery. She had used her biotics until she was ready to collapse. The broken leg hadn't helped at all, and the fatigue would have killed her if he had been delayed. He moved an errant strand of hair off her forehead as he sat down beside her. _Nothing more to do than wait an hour. Might as well do something enjoyable._ He stopped for a moment as the thought went through his mind. He shook himself. _That's just the fact that I'm tired speaking. It's nothing. I should get some shut-eye while I have a break._ He leaned against a nearby cabinet as a backing and let his eyes close. One of the crewmen would bring him lunch and he would wake up if an alarm went off. Satisfied, he fell asleep, knowing he had kept his promise to Kennan Shepard.


End file.
